By Colorado Kids Advisory Board member Joanna Schumacher

Title: Amalee
Author: Dar Williams
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Number of Pages: 180

Ever felt like your life was going terrible? Felt like things couldn't get any worse? Thought you were the only one who felt this way. Wel think again. Everybody at least once on thier life feels that way, including Amalee. Amalee by Dar Williams is about a girl and her life. Reading this book makes you experience her teenage life with the goods and bads she faces. This is Amalee's life.

Amalee's family is just her and her dad. Oh and all of her dad's friends. Even though it's not the perfect family, Amalee loves them all. To Amalee her life is going okay, until her dad becomes seriously ill. Her dad doesn't seem to get any better and things just seem to get worse and worse. School, homework, friends, everthing just seem as bad as her dad's illness. This is Amalee's life.

I personally liked how I could relate to some things and how you could see a whole different life-style other than you're own. I also liked how all the characters had their own unique personalities. I would recommend this book to kids who enjoy reading about other people (fiction or non-fiction). 4th through 6th graders would probably enjoy this book most. Amalee is a girls life waiting to be heard. (February, 2005)