EJ12 Girl Hero: Hot & Cold

Susannah McFarlane (author)

Lemon Fizz Media (Scholastic), Australia: 2010; 126pp

ISBN: 9781921684005

Genres: action, adventure

Issues: bullying, environment, peer pressure, self-confidence

Most of the time Emma Jacks is a normal ten year old school girl trying to cope with normal school type things - homework, teachers, and the ups and downs of playground politics. Since she won a Maths competition, however, she's taken on the role of Secret Agent EJ12 in the under12 division of SHINE.

Her current mission is to find out why the Antarctic ice cap is melting at such an astonishing rate and to put a stop to it before an environmental disaster upsets the fragile ecosystem. As EJ12, Emma Jacks is a confident, assertive young lady with remarkable problem solving skills. Why, if she can handle the evil SHADOW agents with ease, does she find it so difficult to handle Nema, former friend turned arrogant Mean Queen?

While somewhat contrived in their plots and a little simplistic in characterisations, the Girl Hero series is, nevertheless, entertaining reading for seven to ten year olds. Dealing as they do with the many anxieties that beset girls of this age - bullying by snide remarks and exclusion, friendship groups, stage fright etc - the series promotes good values and characteristics such as resilience, persistence and loyalty. The funky gadgets EJ12 uses on her missions are most appealing and each novel has a strong environmental theme. Entertaining light reading with problem solving and codes for interested readers. The series projects a positive image of intelligence, girl power and independence.

Jump Start: Emma Jacks is struggling with her gymnastics routine and is afraid of letting her team down. A SHINE mission to uncover a mysterious SHADOW project in the middle of the rainforest pushes EJ12 outside her comfort zone.

In the Dark: A sleepover with a spooky theme sounds great - except that Emma Jacks is afraid of the dark. An edgy night mission for SHINE challenges EJ12 to overcome her fear in order to save the planet.

Rocky Road: Emma's friends want her to sing the lead with their band for the talent competition but Emma's suffering from stage fright. A SHINE mission takes EJ12 deep undercover in one of her favourite groups. Can she overcome her nerves in time to crack the code and foil SHADOW's evil plans once more?

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