11 Birthdays

11 Birthdays, is an incredible novel written by Wendy Mass, that had me on my toes from cover to cover. I really enjoyed this intriguing story, and recommend it to anyone who likes realistic fiction with just a touch of fantasy.

Amanda’s dreaded 11th birthday has finally arrived. She is about to celebrate with a lame Hollywood-themed party, while her ex-best friend Leo is celebrating their joint birthday by throwing a huge party. He’s hired a hypnotist, a rock band, and football star for his party, and she isn’t invited. Amanda and Leo had always shared their birthday parties, but this year the celebrations are held separately. This confused me in the beginning, but as the story went on, it became clearer. The next morning, Amanda wakes up to find that it is her birthday all over again. Convinced that her family is playing a joke on her, Amanda is surprised to find out that tomorrow is her birthday once more. She discovers that she isn’t the only one who’s “special” day keeps repeating. Can Amanda figure out a way to stop every day from being her birthday?

I really enjoyed this intriguing novel that not only shows the reader that it is okay to forgive a mistake, but allows readers to really understand the plot and the characters by explaining everything about the characters’ past. This book had no unnecessary details, and stuck to the plot for the entire story. The only downside in this book was that in the beginning, there was a small prologue that really confused me. Towards the end of the book, the prologue began to make more sense to me because the author explained what was happening in the prologue on the character’s behalf.

This novel by Wendy Mass was amazing, and I recommend it to people who enjoy realistic fiction and fantasy. I could really relate to the main character in 11 Birthdays because she did not only experience magical things such as her birthday repeating, but she faced problems a regular fifth grade girl would, such as a big fight with her best friend, which made the whole book more interesting to me. Overall, this wonderful book was a really great read. I also recommend reading the next two books in the series, 12 Finally and 13 Wishes by Wendy Mass. I really enjoyed Amanda’s story of friendship, forgiveness, and repeating birthdays

 

Genre: Fantasy/ Realistic Fiction

Author: Wendy Mass