Eight Keys
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Elise and Franklin have always been best friends. Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them. There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors on the second floor.
When Elise and Franklin start middle school, things feel all wrong. Bullying. Not fitting in. Franklin suddenly seems babyish. Then, soon after her 12th birthday, Elise receives a mysterious key left for her by her father. A key that unlocks one of the eight doors upstairs in the bar . . .
SUNSHINE STATE AWARD FINALIST!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
LaFleur's second novel is a quiet and emotionally honest coming-of-age story chronicling Elise's journey into middle school. Elise has lived with her aunt and uncle since her parents' deaths many years earlier. Before he died, Elise's father made eight rooms on the second floor of the barn for Elise to open when the time was right. After Elise turns 12, keys to the rooms appear, one by one, and Elise gets to know her parents, her aunt and uncle, and herself from the things her father has left her. At school Elise is dealing with a bully, falling behind in homework, and being embarrassed by her lifelong friend Franklin, who doesn't understand why bringing Star Wars toys to school or playing pretend games aren't cool anymore. LaFleur (Love, Aubrey) writes with uncommon sensitivity to the fraught period between childhood and the teenage years, when friendships balance on a razor's edge and nothing feels certain. The heart of the story lies in the layered relationships and characters that give the novel its powerful sense of realism. Ages 9 12.
Customer Reviews
Eight Keys
It was really good, and left you to think after every chapter!
Amazing book!
Its really good! The plot is quite creative too.
Eight Keys 🔑
“Eight Keys” is a children’s novel by Suzanne LaFleur that follows the struggles of Elise Bertrand as she begins sixth grade, deals with a bully named Amanda, and does her best to make new friends while keeping old friends. When the novel begins, Elise lives with her Aunt Bessie and her Uncle Hugh, because her own parents have long been dead. Elise is eleven and just finishing up summer vacation. She and her best friend, Franklin, spend hours playing in the fields and woods of their farms. While playing Knights, Elise falls and cuts up her legs. She worries how she will look and how she will fit in at school the next day as a result.
When school begins, Elise is immediately targeted by her lockermate, Amanda, who is pretty, dresses stylishly, and is also very mean. Amanda makes fun of Elise for her legs and for playing pretend with Franklin. Franklin doesn’t care that Amanda - or anyone else - makes fun of him, but for Elise, this is troubling and painful. She slowly begins to put distance between herself and Franklin, telling him things like they are too old to play pretend anymore. Elise also struggles with school itself, for middle-school kids have greater responsibilities than elementary school kids. In particular, Elise struggles to keep up with her homework and falls far behind. Things are only complicated when Aunt Annie and her baby, Ava, move into Uncle Hugh and Aunt Bessie’s house.
Elise’s Uncle Hugh and Aunt Bessie worry about Elise, because they know something is wrong. At first, Elise is very hesitant to say anything, because she is embarrassed and doesn’t think her family will understand. At school, Elise begins to befriend a girl named Caroline, who turns out to be the longtime best friend of Amanda. Caroline explains that she doesn’t know why Amanda is being so mean, because she never was that way before. Elise’s twelfth birthday then rolls around. Uncle Hugh reminds Elise that as she gets older, with each year her responsibilities will be increasing. He encourages her to keep up with her homework, for example.
Each year at her birthday, Elise receives a letter from her dead father, having been written when he was dying of cancer nine years before. Elise is devastated to learn her twelfth birthday letter will be her last letter. In the letter, however, Elise’s father explains that she will soon come into possession of a key to another surprise. As it turns out, Elise will be given eight keys over the next few months. Each key will unlock a door on the off-limits second floor of the barn above Uncle Hugh’s workshop.
Working together with Franklin and Caroline, Elise begins opening each room to discover important things about herself, her life, and her father’s hopes for her life. For example, one room is full of photographs of Elise and her family, with a note urging her to get to know her family and to appreciate them. Another room is full of written questions, representing all the questions in life. Another room is empty, symbolic of Elise’s life and all that she will fill her life with. This gift helps Elise to better appreciate, and finally open up to her family about the troubles at school; it allows her to heal her strained friendship with Franklin; it also allows her to be able to handle bullying at school because Elise is now a stronger, more confident person. As the novel ends, Elise begins to fill her own empty room with things important to her.