July 2016: The Sleepover by Jen Malone

“… a small movement in the mirror, just behind my reflected shoulder, catches my eye.
            What on earth…?
            I spin to face the bathtub and am greeted by a slew of tiny, fluffy balls on legs.  I slump back against the sink and begin counting.  One. Two, Three. Four. Five, Six … There are sixteen baby chicks happily parading around the empty bathtub!  But why are there sixteen baby chicks parading around the bathtub?  Why am I missing an eyebrow?   What did I step in on the way to the bathroom, and why are there Silly String loops connecting the faucet to the shower nozzle?  What is even happening right now?”  Meghan pg. 52 The Sleepover by Jen Malone
 
Meghan and her two best friends, Paige and Anna Marie, are planning an EPIC sleepover for Anna Marie’s thirteenth birthday.  Well, Meghan hopes it’s epic, actually Meghan just hopes that she’ll “… make it to the actual sleeping-over part.” (pg. 3).  In all her twelve and three-quarters years she’s been too scared to spend the night away from home and always ends up calling her parents to come and get her.  But Anna Marie’s sleepover is going to be different, way different, in fact the girls have no idea just how different it’s going to be.  First Anna Marie’s soon to be kind of weird step-sister, Veronica, shows up, then a hypnotist named Madame Mesmer shows up, then … well, it’s morning and the girls wake up to “American Boy” blasting on the XBox … everyone but Anna Marie wakes up, but that’s because Anna Marie seems to be missing.
 
What follows is a whirlwind few hours of Meghan, Paige and Veronica trying to piece together the events of the EPIC sleepover, in hopes that it will help them find Anna Marie before their parents discover what has happened.  There’s only one problem … they can’t even remember what happened.  The Sleepover by Jen Malone, is a funny read that will have you guessing at every turn and also wondering where exactly Anna Marie is.