The Daring Game

The Daring Game. By Kit Pearson. Penguin, 2008. 240 pages. PB $7.99 ISBN 978-0143056942

Summary: Elizabeth is thrilled to be embarking upon her first year in boarding school. As an avid reader, she’s read her fare share of stories featuring the hilarious and courageous exploits of English boarding school girls. Those stories have appealed to her so much that she begs her parents to allow her to board for the year; instead of moving with them to Toronto, she wants to finally experience boarding-school life for herself. Patricia’s roommate, Helen, comes up with the idea to add some spice to dorm life; everyone in the “yellow dorm” should play the daring game!

Critical Review: Boarding-school life forces Elizabeth to deal with difficult questions. She’s constantly pulled between two opposing poles – her parent’s expectations and her friends. She does well in school, but doesn’t want others to feel that she’s a “teacher’s pet”. Developing and maintaining friendships are important to her, as they are to all tweens. Throughout the book, she’s forced to make tough decisions. Her feelings toward troublemaker Helen play a key part in her inner-development, as does her friendship with sixteen-year old Madeleine. Helen teaches Elizabeth that it’s sometimes acceptable to disobey rules. Both Helen and Madeleine send Elizabeth the message that there are more important things to think about than clothes, diets, and boys. As the book progresses, Elizabeth learns more about what her roommates home-lives are really like, from the dorm matron. This teaches her that there’s always more that lurks beneath facades. Elizabeth takes this information with relief: she need no longer be afraid that she’s not measuring up. Now Pam’s criticisms no longer hold such weight over her. Elizabeth’s feelings change towards the day students, as well. She used to believe that they were such snobs, and that they only talked about yacht clubs, dances, etc. She soon realizes that she was mistaken, and develops a friendship with one day-schooler who thinks boarding school life is infinitely more satisfying than living at home. Overall the year at Ashdown Academy shows how Elizabeth struggled, trying to reconcile her parent’s expectations with her own. She leaves school with appreciable confidence and maturity. Developing into a teen is not such a scary experience as she once thought!

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading/Interest Level: 9-12 years

Similar Materials: Penelope Farmer’s Charlotte Sometimes; William Mayne’s A Swarm in May; Ursula Nordstrom’s The Secret Language

Subjects/Themes: British Columbia, Canada; Boarding Schools; Daring Games; Friendships

Character Names: Elizabeth Chambers; Miss Tavistock (Ashdown Academy’s headmistress); Carrie, Helen, Jean, Pam (Elizabeth’s roommates); Madeline (Elizabeth’s sixteen-year old friend)

Author Website: http://www.kitpearson.com/index.html

Brief Annotation: The trials and tribulations of a year at boarding school are chronicled through the eyes of an eleven-year old girl.