Eight Keys

I absolutely love books about relationships, growing up, and overcoming losses in the characters’ lives. Eight Keys by Suzanne Lafleur is my kind of book. I am so thankful that some of my sixth graders kept telling me that I needed to read it. Elise and Franklin have been friends for years. It has always been easy for them to find ways to keep themselves entertained. When the two begin their first year at a big middle school, things begin to change between them. Elise is bullied by a girl named Amanda from the very first day. She feels like her friendship with Franklin doesn’t help the situation. Elise’s mother died giving birth to her and her father died a few years after that from cancer. Her father’s older brother and his wife have raised Elise in a warm house in the country with a huge barn. Her father wrote her a letter for each of her birthdays through the age of twelve. After her twelfth birthday, she discovers keys, one at a time, which will open eight locked doors in the second floor of the barn. Each room, her father’s final gifts, will change her life forever. Read this book to understand what it truly means to be a friend. Eight Keys is going on my 6th Grade Reading List next year. Another great book by Suzanne Lafleur is Love, Aubrey.