Jaclyn Hyde by Annabeth Bondor Stone and Connor White

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Justification

I always love a good retelling and Jaclyn Hyde did not disappoint. It is the tale of Jaclyn Hyde who is the perfect student, daughter and friend--little does she or her friends and family know, she has a dark secret hiding in the shed... the dreaded C!

Evaluation

Plot: Jaclyn, the seemingly perfect student, strives for perfection in every corner of her life. When she has an off day--losing her beloved rabbit and burning some cookies--she stumbles across a recipe for a Perfection potion, releasing her inner Jackie and ruining everyone's day, from teacher to fellow students. Jackie does everything Jaclyn would never do--stealing brownies, ruining someone's artwork, loosing spiders to avoid a test. The only plot point that let me down was that the terrible principal was really the previous principal under the influence of the Perfection potion. For a young reader, it may not seem like an obvious plot twist, but it was for me.

Characters: Jaclyn is a believable in her desire to be perfect and her development through the story shines as it shows the reader that its unnecessary to be perfect. Jaclyn's friends, Fatima and Paige, are wonderful additions to Jaclyn, alongside her bully, Shane. Shane especially is an interesting addition to the story because his behaviors all come down to one event where Jaclyn lied and blamed a broken art project on him.

Conclusion

This is a wonderful addition for any middle grade library, as it exposes students to "classical" literature and is relatable because we are often trying to fit whatever mold our parents or teachers give us. It also shows us how important it is to treat people with kindness and respect, and to be careful with what we say.

Citation

Bondor-Stone, A. (2019). Jaclyn Hyde. New York: HarperCollins.