Sticks & Stones

by: Abby Cooper

Recommended Age (listed on book): 10-12 years old

Elyse has a rare condition, one that she was born with and one passed down by bad genes. Whenever people describe Elyse with words, it instantly appears, big black letters ranging in size. They appear on her arms, leg, and probably anywhere else. As she growing older, and entering middle school, the words start becoming worse. When she was younger, they called her cute, adorable, and awesome, but now that's turned to loser, freaky and pathetic. The worse (or more negative) the words, the itchier it gets. While all this happens, her friends start to drift away, the ones that used to protect her. As the year drags on, she receives note after note, all anonymous and asking her to do something.

As mentioned in the synopsis (on the back of the book),

"Can Elyse figure out who is sending the notes—and how to be happy with herself?"

What I Thought:

Before summer even started, I had already started running out on books. The ones checked out from the school library, read by me. I was itching to read and even asked my sister if she had any books for me. I stayed up past 12am, engrossed in the book. I finally forced myself to stop. It was so interesting, the story and the disorder (cognadjivisibilitis — not real) and so exciting. If you get the chance to read this, I hope you pick it up.