Rule of Three

Rule of Three by Megan McDonald is a book that I would have loved to read in my own middle grade years. I enjoyed the story between three sisters: Alex, Stevie, and Joey. Each sister is unique and has their own set of talents. When Stevie decides to try out for a play, something Alex is known as having talent for, she doesn't tell anyone of her plans at first. Both sisters want the lead in the musical....without giving away the ending, I will say that I was pleased by the way this was resolved and with the maturity and reasoning the characters show. Maybe some middle grade readers will benefit from this example of maturity and good decision making. I think that readers will enjoy the notebook page additions between chapters and little quizzes that are included more than I did. While some of them were necessary to the plot because they revealed a different voice, being narrated by a different sister, they also confused me from time to time as I would forget who was narrating. I am not sure kids who read these would pay attention enough to pick that up.McDonald's references to Louisa May Alcott, Little Women and other "school things" like the name for groups of animals all help to make this book educational without feeling that way at all. I look forward to another addition to this new Sisters Club series by McDonald.