The double Life Of Zoe Flynn

The Double Life Of Zoe Flynn 4-25-10

By: Janet Lee Carey

Dear readers,

Recently I finished reading a book called The Double Life Of Zoe Flynn. I enjoyed this book a lot. It was mainly about a girl named Zoe who had to leave behind her life in Tillerman California because her dad lost his job in the small town. They moved to Scout River Oregon for a fresh start and so her parents could find work. Since the family had lost so much money in Tillerman, they had to live in the family van night and day, they had to give their dog away, and Zoe and her younger brother Juke had to mature a lot on their own.

I liked the way the author described about how much Zoe wanted to win the lottery. She told us that Zoe went to eat lunch at the Galaxy Burger everyday. I think every kid is hopeful of some day winning the lottery and it made me relate to the teenage girl, Zoe, even more than I already had.

I couldn't understand why the title was The Double Life Of Zoe Flynn. yes she loved her home in Tillerman and she did sneak back one weekend to go and visit her old friends but she didn't exactly live a double life.

I was very surprised when I figured out that the girl Julia's grave that the policeman kept visiting and putting up new photos of her at turned out to be his very own daughter. She died one night while riding her bike when it was dark and her bike lights weren't working. That is also when I realized why the police officer was so closely following the children riding their bikes.

I noticed how the author was speaking to readers such as me to be careful on bicycles because if you ride in front of cars in the middle of the night you could end up just like Julia, the girl who died riding her bike.

If I were the author I would have ended the chapters with so much more suspense. At the end of each chapter I wasn't off the end of my seat wondering what would happen next. I found myself sometimes confused by how she ended the chapters.

I would rate this book a 7 because it had a lot of good details and certain chapters that were jaw dropping and filled with action but there were chapters where nothing happened and I got confused a book could go from so good to so bad that fast.

The main character of this book was a sixth grader named Zoe Flynn. She went out of her way to try and keep living her old life in Tillerman even though she was living in Scout River, Oregon. When she snuck back to Tillerman one weekend on a bus she finally realized life in Tillerman had gone on without her and thats when she realized Scout River was her new home.

I wonder why Zoe took so much of her anger out on the Jacobses for moving into their old house. Even though they were moving into their old house doesn't mean that Zoe had to hate the girls and the parents for that. Zoe hated the girls so much she told Kellen, her best friend in Tillerman at the time to never be friends with Jessica or Mandy. Later on in the book Kellen and Jessica became really close friends.

My favorite quote from this book was "I want a Christmas tree like we get every year." I liked this quote the best because in this book Juke and Zoe appreciated the small things in life so much more than anyone I know. Imagine living inside a van with your family for almost a year. Eating inside a van, sleeping inside a van, having no showers, and smelling horrible. Then once your family has enough money to afford a trailor home the only thing you ask for is a Christmas tree.

I really encourage you to read this book because it might help you to appreciate the small things in life a little more. The author of this book is great and I hope you will also read other books by her.

Sincerely,

Andrea

Period 6-7