Because, in Willow Falls, anything’s possible, and nothing is as it seems.My younger daughter has recently gotten into the Wendy Mass series “Willow Falls” which starts with the book 11 Birthdays. With a big dose of birthday magic, 13 Gifts will make readers laugh, think, and possibly even hum a show tune or two. And that’s just for starters! Tara’s adventures take her and her new friends to places they’d never thought they’d find, some in the real world, and a lot deep inside themselves. Like losing-her- immortal-soul kind of bad. If Tara can’t collect thirteen mysterious objects for the old woman in time for her rapidly approaching thirteenth birthday, the consequences will be REALLY BAD. There’s a boy who sings in the bottom of an empty pool, two best friends who use blackboards to Communicate (Amanda and Leo from 11 BIRTHDAYS), and a green-eyed girl who may-or may not-be dating the world’s hottest teen movie star (Rory from FINALLY)ĭue to another huge lapse in judgment, Tara finds herself beholden to perhaps the strangest person of all: Angelina D’Angelo. Tara quickly learns that Emily isn’t even remotely the strangest person in town. As punishment for her misdeed, Tara’s parents send her to the sleepy little town of Willow Falls to stay with relatives she hardly knows, including her eleven-year-old cousin Emily, who, the last time they were together, ate an entire stick of glue. It doesn’t take long for Tara Brennan to realize that breaking into school to steal a goat while wielding a can of pepper spray is not a good idea. To hear some behind the scenes info on how 11 Birthday’s was written, along with a short reading, visit. The next day is her birthday all over again. SO not fair!Īmanda can’t wait for the day AFTER her birthday so she can stop thinking about the fight that led to her and Leo having separate parties for the first time in their lives. Meanwhile, across town, her ex-best friend Leo is celebrating their joint birthday with a huge bash including a hypnotist, a football star, a giant iguana, and a rock band. Instead she’s dressed in an itchy costume her mother picked out for her Hollywood-themed party (Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, even though the flying monkeys have always creeped her out).

On their tenth, they learned there are some words you can never take back.Īmanda’s eleventh birthday should have been a happy occasion. On their fifth, they planted seeds in handmade pots. On their first birthday, they learned to walk.

11 birthdays series order