8 Days in DUMBO by Margaret J. McMaster

8 Days in DUMBO
Margaret J. McMaster
Mansbridge Dunn Publishers (2019)
ISBN 9781999114404
Reviewed by Maddie (age 12) for Reader Views Kids (12/19)

“8 Days in DUMBO” by Margaret J. McMaster is a story about a girl named Phoebe and a mystery that takes place in DUMBO.  When I saw the title I was curious about what DUMBO means and it actually stands for part of a neighborhood called Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.  Yeah, DUMBO is a lot easier to remember.

The story begins with Phoebe (her friends call her Febes) hiding from the school bully, Serena.  Serena picks on Febes for no reason, but that’s what bullies do. One day Serena made fun of the blog Phoebe’s mom has had ever since she was a baby. Phoebe didn’t even know her mom had a blog and she was humiliated, but it comes in handy when it is time to solve a mystery. One day when a boy, Peter Philby, goes missing, Febes and her friends start a search. When Peter is found a few days later Febes and her mom visit him in the hospital and Febes sees Serena. What’s Serena doing at the hospital? A lot happens in this story – the mystery, Phoebe and her friends creating a history project, the man next door who puts signs in his window to communicate and a girl who can’t hear or speak who works at a restaurant where Phoebe and her grandma go a lot. How does all this go together?  You just have to read it to find out!

I think it’s funny that Phoebe calls her mom and dad Abby and Chuck. I’m not sure my mom and dad would be okay with that, but it made me laugh.

One of my favorite parts was when Phoebe helped Serena even though Serena was always mean to her.  It made Serena realize Phoebe was a good friend. I also liked when Peter was telling the story because it’s written just like a little boy would talk. I have to say the part I liked best was the rap one of Phoebe’s friends made to go with their school project – it was so good, and I admit, I had fun trying to rap it out myself!

The ending was kind of a surprise to me.  I wouldn’t have thought the parents of the missing boy would be able to work things out the way they did. It was really unexpected! I think kids around the ages of 10 to 13 would like “8 Days in DUMBO” by Margaret J. McMaster. It’s a fun story and full of action and adventure.