Molly Saves the Day
Written by Valerie Tripp
Illustrated by Nick Backes
Reviewed by Azadeh D. (age 11)
Molly and two of her best friends, Linda and Susan, go to Camp Gowonagin for their summer break and they hope to have a lot of fun there. In just a few days they feel so happy and comfortable. There was so much to do at the camp like play softball, basketball, volleyball, swimming and sailing. There were only two problems: Molly didn't know how to swim and Susan wasn't good at canoeing. One night, their couselor, Miss Butternut, made a big announcement. She said that they were going to have a color war. Molly didn't know if she would like this.
The next day, Dorinda was chosen as captain, like always. She was really mean and bossy and she said that her team had to win. That night, Molly and Susan were really scared because Linda wasn't on their team and also the color war included canoeing and some swimming. Linda told them to not be scared and be brave. Molly and Susan thought Linda wasn't scared of anything, but she was afraid of bugs and worms.
The next day they had to take a canoe ride to the island that belonged to Linda's team to try to steal their flag. If they did this, they would win the game. When Molly and Susan got in the canoe, they had a lot of trouble. Once it tipped over and Molly overcame her fear by swimming under water. When they got to land, it was a secret island and from there, they could see all of their teammates captured. They knew it was up to them to capture the flag and win. Linda saw them and was telling her team to get them. but they knew what to do. They went on the island, dropped worms on Linda's head, freed their team from prison and Molly captured the flag. They won! However, it turns out the secret island they found was full of poison ivy. About half of the girls at camp had it, but Molly and Susan knew they overcame their fears and were heroes.
If I wrote this book, I would not change anything because the story fits together very well. My favorite part of the story is when Molly captured the red team's flag because she was so brave for facing her fears. My favorite character is Molly because I admire her for facing her fears, being brave and saving the day. My least favorite character is Dorinda because she thinks she is the boss and is mean to everyone.
This story relates to my life because there is always someone who is mean and thinks they are the boss, but everyone else are the ones doing the work and working together. I think others should read this book because it teaches you a lesson to always face your fears no matter what.