Kidzworld has some great summer reading suggestions for all you kids out there! This time, we’re reviewing a novel called Footfree And Fancylose, by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. That’s right – not one, but two authors for this book. Let’s see if two writers are really better than one.
Footfree And Fancyloose is the sequel (second in a series) to another book by the same authors called Bass Ackwards And Belly Up. Sometimes sequels to books and movies pale in comparison to the first, but not in this case. Footfree And Fancyloose is actually a very worthy sequel, and we think you’ll love it. But first, we have to catch up on the lives of the characters, which started back in the first book.
Bass Ackwards And Belly Up
In Bass Ackwards and Belly Up, four best friends from Boulder, Colorado – Harper, Sophie, Becca and Kate – decided to spend the year after they graduated from high school following their dreams. Becca went to college but was given the extra mission of falling in love. Sophie decided to move to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career as an actress. Harper wanted to write the next great American novel (while living in her parents’ basement, working at a local coffee shop and lusting after her former English teacher, unfortunately). Kate went to travel the world.
Footfree And Fancyloose
In the sequel, we find the four BFFs in the second half of the year of dreams. When the book starts, Becca is in love with her boyfriend, Stuart, and doing well on the ski team at Middlebury. Sophie is not doing as well in her acting career as she would have hoped – she’s far from being a movie star yet. Kate has gone to Ethiopia, where her adopted little sister, Habiba, is from, to dig wells for poor villages. Harper is slowly but surely actually writing a book and trying to mend her relationships with the people she cares about.
For all of four girls, jumping on the dream train wasn’t as easy as they hoped. But maybe, just maybe, with the support of each other, the four of them can make their dreams come true.
All four girls are, again, really realistic, unique (just like real friends) characters and people you’d really like to know in real life! Their year of dreams is so inspiring; Harper, Becca, Kate and Sophie do what many people have dreamed of, but few actually have the guts to do. They leave society’s prescribed path to follow their hearts.
We loved this book, which was a funny, honest and touching story about friendship, dreams, growing up and so much more. It’s about life. Just like us, we’re pretty sure you won’t be able to get enough of this book. It’s pretty long – about 420 pages – but a real page-turner. Reading it, we couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.
Confusing Cover
Don’t be put off when you see the cover of this book (the paperback version, at least). It’s a picture of three girls lying side-by-side in the grass, looking up at the clouds. There are, in fact, four best friends in the story (just like we said). Someone must’ve made a mistake when designing the book cover.
More Great Summer Reads:
