Imagine you are all alone with no one to talk to, no one to cry with or no one to hug. Imagine moving into a new town with no friends and feeling weird about going into a new school without knowing anyone. You try to talk to people even though you know it's hard. This is the life of Amanda in the fictional book The Secret Life of Amanda K. Woods by Ann Cameron. The protagonist, Amanda, is an average girl who moves into a new town and is just trying to make friends and find her real self. The theme and problems that are presented in this novel will surely grab your attention.

Amanda Woods's life is truly horrible. She suddenly moves into a new town ” Lost Lake” without a friend or someone to talk to. But that's not all. She has a demanding mother who tries to make her older sister perfect, and her bossy older sister is always trying to turn Amanda into a cool girl. She isn't really close to her father ,she really needs a friend to relate to or talk to.

Ann Cameron does a terrific job making you sympathize with Amanda's loneliness, so much that you would even become friends with her. Ann Cameron really does a great job on making Amanda K. Woods realistic with her lonesomeness in this novel. A lot of kids in the world sometimes feel lonely. It can could be you or me; we all have those days.


This novel has an outstanding theme that can really teaches you a lesson. It is like the novel is opening and calling your name repeatedly; it's really trying to tell you something. I am absolutely sure that I have understood the message in the novel. This outstanding novel is trying to tell you to be yourself and not act like anyone else . It is also telling you that someone can turn out different from what you expected. For example people in Amanda's class thought she was snotty because they thought she came from a higher class , so they were mean to her. Another example is example, when Margaret was trying to make Amanda cool, Amanda didn't need her help. This is perfect for teenagers, to just be themselves and not be pressured by friends

My final recommendation is that this novel is perfect for pre-teens and teens. It will teach you things you might have never realized. With Ann Cameron's clever writing technique make this story very real for young adults.. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. You might even enjoy other books from Ann Cameron like: Cold Fury, Gloria Rising , and Colibri . All in all , my favorite novel fro Ann Cameron is The Secret Life of Amanda K. Woods This book might even teach you to make friends and find your real true self.