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Book Review of Access Denied (and other eighth grade error messages)

Access Denied (and other eighth grade error messages)
GeniusJen avatar reviewed on + 5322 more book reviews


Reviewed by JodiG. for TeensReadToo.com

Erin Swift is sure that the eighth grade will be a far better experience than her last school year.

In seventh grade - the Year of Humiliating Events (or YOHE as she likes to refer to it) - Erin's private blog became a very public one. Everyone at Molly Brown Middle School (and most of the high school students) read every humiliating detail. This year will be different. After all, if she survived her YOHE, she can survive anything, right?

Erin is surrounded by good friends: Jilly, Rosie, Carla, and Mr. F., the school janitor and family friend. She also has her good friend, Mark, her former crush who is still cute but still just a friend. And, he has the girlfriend to prove it.

This year Erin gets a new locker partner. Reede Harper isn't like any of Erin's other friends. She wears a lot of makeup, seems to know more about people than they know about themselves, and is full of mystery about herself. Oh, and she smokes, which makes her just the kind of girl that Erin would never hang out with. So, why is she so drawn to her?

As if it wasn't hard enough to deal with the social politics of middle school, Erin's mother still treats her like she's a child. She has to stay at home while her friends get to go to concerts and other fun events. And, she's not allowed to date, which makes it tricky since she has started seeing a boy from the ninth grade. There is also the hunky high school Junior that has been hanging out with Erin's older brother. And Mark always seems to be somewhere in the picture. But, they're just friends. Right?

As Erin struggles to gain a little more independence and control over her life, she finds herself struggling to make the right decisions and teetering dangerously close to another YOHE.

The sequel to CLICK HERE (TO FIND OUT HOW I SURVIVED SEVENTH GRADE), author Denise Vega has written a book that is just as enjoyable even if you didn't read the first book. The story will have you laughing, and crying, right along with the characters.