Customer Reviews

12 Again

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

12 Again is probably one of the best books I've read. It was funny, it had Ye Olde Irish Magic in it, and it seemed so REAL. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Somebody should make a movie about it. Soon. VERY SOON. I've read all the books in Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, His Dark Materials, and this is definetly one book that deserves to go into this list.

I loved this book. It made me want to keep reading it. I can't wait for your next book to come out. I recommend it for all my friends.

WOW! This book is definetely on me top 5 favorite books list along with the classics. It was so great I just couldn't put it down. I was hooked! It was truly an excellent book. I recommend it to all ages! Its so exciting, and just keeps you reading and reading. It pulls you into the book right when you read the first chapter, and you could feel yourself watching everything going on between all the characters. Sue Corbett is an excellent author and this book is worth every single penny!

Completely stressed out with her life as a mother, wife, and journalist, Bernadette McBride decides to spend the night at her late mother's house. While drinking some mysterious liquid in the pantry, Bernadette wishes to be young again, and falls asleep. When she awakens, she is horribly shocked. She has been transformed into her 12-year-old self on what should be her 40th birthday. When she hears her mother calling her down for breakfast and she is first overjoyed to see her mother again, but then realizes that while it's 1972 in her house, outside it's modern times. Bernadette decides to enroll in her oldest son's school and tries to figure out how to undo her wish and get back to her husband and three boys. Meanwhile, as weeks go by, her family assumes that she is missing or worse. However, her eldest son, Patrick McBride, is certain that his mother will try to contact him, and he doesn't give up hope. When he finally receives her mysterious and untraceable e-mail sending him off on a dangerous errand, he realizes that the solution to the catastrophe is entirely in his hands, and he must not fail.
I would give this book a ten out of ten. I really, really enjoyed it and I couldn't put it down. Sue Corbett weaved together fantasy and realistic fiction into something new. 12 Again was interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable to read. I learned about several Irish customs and beliefs, but those parts weren't boring, though it might seem that way. I would recommend this book to anyone; it was that excellent!

J. Elliott
12 again book review


Imagine the after your fortieth birthday you wake up twelve again. This happened to Bernadette McBride after her husband had forgotten her birthday. Her son Patrick went mainly took care of his two little brothers because his mother works as an editor for the local news paper and his father was a docter. But when his mother went to his dead grandmother's house to get away for a night she fell asleep working on a story for the news paper. When she woke up she was twelve again and her mother was alive. What had really happened was the house was set back to the time when she was twelve. She was said to be missing because no one had answer the door to her mother's house, she did not answer her phone, and she didn't answer emails until later in the story. In the end, Patrick had collected things his mother had told him to in e-mails and gave them to Detta (a.k.a. Bernadette) and she made three cakes which she must eat to go back to normal. I highly recommend this book.

I recommend this book because the plot falls in order. Everything that happened was explained day by day switching between Detta and Patrick every chapter. This theory helped me understand the story a little bit better. Since this helped me understand more I was able to read faster while still comprehending the book. Since I can be a slow reader, this was a spectacular key.

I also liked this book because it was funny to see people trying to figure out why Detta lied about so many things. Detta had signed up at her son's middle school hoping to watch Patrick and follow him home to look in the door as she walked by the house. Detta told the school the wrong social security number and had lied about why she had missed school for three days.

One downfall to 12 Again though, is the unrealistic actions by characters. The three things Patrick's mother had told him to get were unusual. She was planning to use fairies to change her back. She had told him to get ten goose berries and ten goose thorns, a live ember from April 30th, and three sprigs of watercress. These materials were very hard to come by even though Patrick had collected them.

I overall recommend 12 Again because it was written well. The plot fell in order. The novel made sense. Plus every problem was solved. I recommend 12 Again.

What if you woke up one day and you were twelve years old again when just the day before you were a busy overworked mother of three kids? That is exactly what happens to Bernadette McBride in the novel 12 Again by Sue Corbett. The story is about of a frustrated mother and writer who magically becomes a seventh grader again after visiting her childhood home and her family who is missing her. While her family searches for her, Bernadette tries to figure out how to become her old self again because she can't tell anyone who she really is. This book is very entertaining, funny and with its fast paced action it will make the reader anxious to know what will happen next.

A funny part of this book is when Bernadette enrolls herself as a seventh grader at her oldest son Patrick's school. She tries to find ways to communicate with him and see how he is managing without her. It is hard for her to fit it at the school because she forgets what it is like to be in middle school again. She makes a few friends but has to remember not to tell her real age.

Another reason why I would recommend this book is because the characters seem very realistic. I could imagine them in the scenes of the book as I read. Bernadette seems like a normal mother who is stressed out from her work and also having to raise three children. Also Patrick McBride seems like a normal seventh grade boy. Like most twelve year old boys, he doesn't like to watch his younger siblings or to do chores and he likes to hang out with his friends.

Another reason why I recommend this book is because of the creativity in the plot. This book will grab the reader's attention from the very beginning. The reader will have fun trying to imagine how Bernadette turned into a little girl again. They will wonder how a mother and son are in the same class together and not be able to tell each other who they really are.

12 Again is an excellent well written novel that I would highly recommend. Readers looking for a funny adventurous story will love this book. The reader will route for Bernadette to try to get back to her normal self and go back to her family. They will want to keep reading until they get to see what happens to Bernadette and her family.


~ C. Cirillo

Sue Corbett may be a "debut author," but she clearly knows how to tell a story and engage readers -- parents, as well as kids. I look forward to more from this wonderful new writer.

The book does a great job of bringing you into the world it creates, from middle school to the Irish immigrant household to the life of a 12 year old burdened by younger siblings. Splitting the point of view between the mother and son keeps the story moving quickly and makes it interesting for both the youngsters and the parents.

Bernadette McBride was an almost 40-year-old, working mother with three children. Lately, she had been overwhelmed with her responsibilities as a mother and a journalist. While seeking solace at her deceased mother's house, she drinks a mysterious amber-colored elixir, which she toasts to her mother...and her youth. The next morning, the morning of her fortieth birthday, she wakes up twelve again.

Patrick McBride was twelve when his mother vanished. While balancing his own emotions about her disappearance, he tries to keep the family going. At the same time, he repeatedly e-mails his mother, because he knows she has the laptop with her.

However, while the outside world still exists in the present time, it is 1972 in Bernadette's house. She is tossed back into the loving care of her mother, and attends Patrick's school as "Detta", the new girl. Although she is relieved to have her mother back at her side, she misses her family dearly. As Bernadette tries to unravel the mystery of being twelve again, a lot of things become apparent to her, in ways which they never were before.

Twelve Again is a delightful read for teenagers as well as young adults. Although it is essentially a book of mystery, Sue Corbett adds a tinge of humor here and there, making it a fairly light-hearted and enjoyable to read. The story is told from a double perspective - Bernadette's and Patrick's - allowing the readers to fully understand the complete plot, and striking a balance between the "past" and "present" of the story. The emotions of both mother and son are realistically depicted, and through Patrick's eyes, we get a peek at the rest of the family's reactions as well. As the mystery unfolds, we take a look at all its puzzling ingredients: a black rabbit, a hidden key, a full moon on Halloween night, fairy magic and Irish folklore. Although some of these elements remain fuzzy and are never fully explained, the message of the story is clear. Through Bernadette's experience, one can discover the power of regrets, as well as the importance of letting go.

12 Again
By sue Corbett
12 again is an amazing story full of love, compassion, bravery, and believing. In this story a young boy of 12 named Patrick must help his mother Bernadette come home. Patrick lives with his mother, father, his brother Kevin, and his brother Neil. They all live in a home in a regular town just like many of us do. Patrick feels like he has to do everything with his younger brothers. He must babysit them on the weekends, and play toys with Neil (the youngest). Because his father is a doctor he can't help out around the house. His mother also works from home and is always locking herself away in her office. One day on Bernadette's birthday she got so annoyed with her kids and husband that she left the house to stay at her mothers. Her mother had passed away a few months ago and so the house was empty. While Bernadette was there she wished that she was younger. The very next day she woke up and found herself to be 12 again. The whole house had gone back to when Bernadette was 12 in 1979. For Patrick to help get his mother back he must go through hard times of trusting, believing and seeing.

I loved reading 12 again, it was a great read. It really reminded me of how much I would miss my mother if she ever went away. I think that in this book it had a fate problem, because they have to deal with magic. On a rate of 1-10 I would say this book is about a 9. It has a lot of adventure and mystery. Another thing I liked about it is that you can't predict what's going happen next. You feel obligated to read on because you want to know what is coming. 12 again is a book everyone should read because it shows you how much you should love your family even when you don't get along with them all the time.