School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

Summary: Four children, each with a crippling phobia:


Garrison is afraid of water. This is made more unfortunate by the fact that he lives in Florida, where everyone goes to the beach or has a pool.

Madeleine is afraid of bugs and spiders. She is constantly surrounded by a cloud of pesticide and stays covered with a layer of mosquito netting.

Lulu is claustrophobic. She won’t even ride in an elevator.

Theodore is afraid of dying – not just of his own death, but of the death of anyone he cares about or even knows. His family has to check in with him regularly to confirm their status as still living.

The four have never met before this summer, but now will be united by the scariest event of their lives; a summer at the School of Fear. It’s an unusual school with unusual methods. Each student will conquer his or her fear in six weeks. And the headmistress of the school, a past-her-prime beauty queen, will use whatever methods are necessary to make sure they all make satisfactory progress.

Throw in a quirky, elderly caretaker, a depressed bulldog, and an attorney with questionable motives and you have a fun, fast-paced book for kids and adults. The humor reminds me of Lemony Snicket; wry and dryly funny with plenty of sarcasm.

School of Fear by Gitty Danashvari is a great read for a dull, rainy day with plot twists that will keep the reader guessing.

Themes:
Courage
Friendship


Age Appropriateness:
10 and up

Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: none
Violence: mild