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Lake Rescue: Beacon Street Girls, Book 6

(2005, Fiction - Friendship, Written by Annie Bryant)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 9; suggested age 9.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    After-school special-style novel on weight loss.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 9 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Chelsea knows that students talk about her behind her back about her weight. Some girls defend her: Dillon calls Chelsea a bear, which Maeve tells him is really mean. Chelsea skips gym class and gets sent to the principal's office. The girls wear striped pajamas to look like convicts and wear signs saying "This school is a prison" and "No more homework." The girls are cliquish and always want to be together. Students get into a food fight at camp until the counselor tells them it's wrong to waste food. Kiki tells a teacher to "chill out." The teacher responds by stamping her foot and shouting. Chelsea learns "I can't let how much I weigh stop me from having a great life!" The book ends with health tips.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.

  • Sex:

    Girls have crushes on boys. Charlotte and Nick hold hands. Charlotte feels jealous when Nick pays attention to Isabel.

  • Language:

    Kiki insults Chelsea by calling her fat; Chelsea calls her "Kiki Underpants."

  • Consumerism:

    The girls go shopping to buy new things for camp. Katani complains that she has to wear her sisters' hand-me-downs. There are several name-brand references. Pop culture shout-outs -- like Legally Blonde, the comic "Cathy," and Mariah Carey -- date the content. There's a big push for Outward Bound camps for weight loss, with at least three mentions of the program.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    The girls discuss how they would never smoke. Isabel tells them how her sister broke up with a cute boy because he smoked. "He said he was addicted and he was only fifteen." Nick says his parents let him drink lattes because "it's kind of a Latin thing."
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Lake Rescue: Beacon Street Girls, Book 6

Parents need to know that this book, which garnered media attention for helping girls lose body mass, features an overweight girl who's ostracized at school. A one-dimensional beautiful girl is mean and insults other girls. A formerly overweight camp counselor shares tips for making healthy choices. There's a mild romantic subplot.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about ways they could exercise together or eat more healthfully. Parents can discuss scientific research and how it's represented in the media. For example, the New York Times (Oct. 13, 2008) and other media outlets covered a Duke University study featuring this book. The study involved fewer than 100 girls, all already enrolled in a weight-loss program at the university. One group of 31 girls read Lake Rescue; another group read Charlotte in Paris. A smaller group of 14 girls didn't read anything. After six months, researchers found that the girls who read a book posted a larger drop in their body mass index. What do you think of this study? Do you think there's enough evidence to support the connection between the book and weight loss? Does any media you watch, read, or listen to sway your behavior in a positive way?
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