The day finally arrives, and Amanda's eleventh birthday ends up even worse than she could have imagined. What's worse is that she's heard all these rumors about the incredible party Leo's parents are throwing for him-with a hypnotist, a band, and a real football player-while she's stuck with this costume party idea that her own mom came up with. She hasn't spoken to him in exactly one year, ever since she heard him say those nasty things about her at their last joint birthday party. Ten years later, Amanda Ellerby is absolutely dreading her eleventh birthday party, the first that she will spend without her ex-friend, Leo. Through a fluke, one year later, both sets of parents booked the same location for their child's first birthday, and Amanda and Leo took to each other so much that celebrating their birthday together in the small town of Willow Falls became a great town tradition. On the day that Amanda Ellerby and Leo Fitzpatrick were born, a mysterious woman with a birthmark shaped like a duck told their parents that the two newborns would grow up to be the best of friends, and that they should always celebrate their birthdays together.

I love to revisit good characters, see how they're doing.Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for Point D) It's the first in a trilogy, which is always a selling point for me. Not hilarious, but witty little moments here and there that show that Wendy Mass gets how kids think and how friendships really work, that there's jealousy and joy all mixed in and muddled together. Or reliving a bad day that was supposed to be good until it comes out the right way. Point B) The Groundhog Day on your birthday is a plot that every kid will be able to appreciate: there's nobody who doesn't fantasize about having their day, over and over again. It's a fight I'm not going to stop fighting, but in the case of this book, there's no need to fight it - having both male and female main characters, both of whom are fleshed out pretty well (even if we get more of the female MC POV) is a strong selling point. Point A) There's nothing gender-y about this book: Although I personally don't think there's such a thing as 'boy books' and 'girl books' you do sometimes come up against kids who are dead set against reading anything they identify as belonging to the other team. First off, I started reading this without knowing that the birthday in question - June 5th - is actually my own birthday, and that may have predisposed me a little bit towards liking this book, but I didn't really need any extra incentive: It was a thoroughly charming, light read that I'd recommend for most 9-12 year olds.

11 birthdays by wendy mass