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SOPHIE WASHINGTON by Tonya Duncan Ellis

SOPHIE WASHINGTON

Class Retreat

From the Sophie Washington series, volume 11

by Tonya Duncan Ellis

Pub Date: Oct. 15th, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73533-892-7
Publisher: Page Turner Publishing

Young Sophie Washington has fun and faces challenges at a sixth grade class retreat in this 11th children’s book in Ellis’ series.

The story takes place over two days as Sophie’s private school in Houston brings its students to Camp Glowing Spring for outdoor activities. Sophie is looking forward to spending time with her friends, but she’s also apprehensive about being in the woods after watching Finding Big Foot, which gave her nightmares. She knows that Bigfoot is a hoax, but she still worries—especially after seeing glimpses of a tall, unkempt, hairy man in baggy clothes around camp. She’s also anxious about heights and swimming in the lake, but once she gives the retreat’s activities a try, she has fun. On the other hand, another school’s campers sling racist insults at her and her friend Mariama, both Black, and Christy Chen, who’s Asian American. Sophie discovers that she enjoys playing pranks on racist jerks, and she eventually learns the truth about the hairy man. Ellis shows insight into the doubts and joys of middle school in this latest outing. Although Sophie is part of the popular crowd, she sometimes feels like the odd one out, even within her tight group of friends. The author also effectively relates how Sophie doesn’t appreciate her friends’ interest in boys and how they don’t share her wariness about trying new things. Later, Ellis shows Sophie’s growth when she takes some risks but still has fun. The book encourages appreciation for the outdoors and includes a nature scavenger-hunt list. The tale does seem rather slight, overall, though, and it could have treated the issue of racism with more depth. Uncredited black-outline illustrations economically convey characters and settings.

A mild but enjoyable adventure.