Amelia Burnett is 12 years old and loves collecting cheap things. Her latest acquisition is a chemistry set with an eye-catching claim on the box, “Take Care! This Set Contains Real Chemicals That WILL Change Your Life!”. Following the instructions and putting the kit to use to hopefully become more brilliant the results are not quite as expected and working out the boundaries of the experiment leads to some unforeseen circumstances.
This is an inventive story about friendship, fitting in and ultimately self-acceptance that I think would be great for readers aged 11+ to read. At the start, Amelia has a few things that she’d change about herself, and I loved that over the course of the book she learns to accept herself more and the qualities she wished for might have been there all along. There are lots of funny moments while Amelia is at school, the 800m race put a smile on my face, and a bittersweet but hopeful ending.
I think that this is an entertaining short story for readers aged 11+ with lots of positive messaging held within this fun, slightly chaotic story.
Amelia Burnett loves to collect cheap things. One day she comes across a chemistry set at a car boot sale that promises to help create a ‘New You’ by following a few simple steps. And Amelia does want to be super-intelligent. What she doesn’t realise is that a whole ‘New You’ will mean so much more than she bargained for. Soon keeping control of a situation that seems to grow more complicated all the time extends her skills and knowledge in more ways than she ever thought possible. Find out more about Amelia by reading Doppelganger!
