Rating: Not for me (Deceitful to parents, stranger danger)

Level: Mid-late Elementary

Concerns:

  • Lies to her parents to not get in trouble for playing with her mom’s perfume; knows she isn’t supposed to (see excerpt below)
  • Plays her parents’ empathy to her advantage instead of being honest (see excerpt below)
  • Lets a stranger talk her into going to a strange land (stranger danger!) basically assisting in her own abduction
  • Sneaks sweets into the shopping cart when Dad isn’t looking (see excerpt below)
  • Doesn’t follow Father’s directions when he tells her to put candy back on shelf.
  • Thwarts discipline from one parent by talking the other parent into ignoring it. Sigh.

The story is an exciting fairy-tale/modern day mash-up with a surprising twist near the end, but overall I don’t think the good writing outweighs the terrible habits and dispositions displayed by the main character.

Sneaking sweets into the cart
pretending to be upset so that she doesn’t get in trouble for playing with her mother’s perfume; plays with her father’s empathy