As Simple as It Seems

So B. It by Sarah Weeks is a book that many of my students recommend to each other. It is a book that they want to discuss. I think that will be the case with As Simple as It Seems, Weeks’ most recent novel. Eleven-year-old Verbena notices a change in herself that she doesn’t like. Everything about her doting mother annoys her and she cannot hide the rage that is building inside. She was always told that she was small for her age and had to wear glasses because she was born prematurely. She accidentally finds out the horrible truth behind her birth which only confirms everything that she has been feeling. A boy named Pooch from the city moves into the abandoned house nearby for the summer. The family that used to live in that house moved away a long time ago after their daughter, Tracey, drowned in the lake. When Pooch sees Verbena beside the lake he thinks she is the ghost of Tracey. Wanting to be anybody but herself, Verbena happily plays along. Before long the two find themselves in a life or death situation. Sarah Weeks has a gift for making her characters real to her readers. Another great book by Sarah Weeks is Jumping the Scratch.