The Girl and the Glim

Gr 5-8–When Bridgette’s family moves mid-year, she is super nervous about starting a new school and trying to make new friends. Back home she had a group of friends that did everything together, and now she is starting off all alone. Even her big brother is away at college. School starts off badly: The other kids make fun of her size and no one seems to accept her. One day, a couple of bullies lock her in a storage room. She escapes through a window and gets lost in the woods. A fearsome creature attacks and breaks apart into small spiders, and Bridgette runs home as they pursue her. Once there, she finds a creature unlike the others has followed her home, and she names it Glim. The next day, in school, accompanied by her new alien friend, Bridgette discovers that the terrible creatures are in school, and it is up to Bridgette to capture them because she is the only one who can see them. Madness ensues and Bridgette’s behavior doesn’t help her reputation, but by the end, readers will come to love the quirky little teen and root for her. There is much slapstick comedy because Bridgette is the only one who can see the Glim and the creatures, which adds many humorous moments. The book ends with a cliff-hanger and lots of loose ends, so it seems like this will be the start of a series.