11 Birthdays facts for kids
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| Author | Wendy Mass |
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| Cover artist | Digital Vision (RF)/Getty Images, Digital rendering by Joe Zeff and Michael Frost, Cover design by Lillie Mear |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Willow Falls |
| Subject | Birthdays, Friendship, Time Loops, Magic |
| Genre | Fantasy, Realistic Fiction |
| Published | 2009 |
| Publisher | Scholastic Press |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 272 |
| Awards | William Allen White Award, and a 2009 Library Guild Selection |
| ISBN | 978-0-545-05239-9 |
| Followed by | Finally |
11 Birthdays is a children's time looptime travel novel written by Wendy Mass and published in 2009 by Scholastic Press. It is the first novel in the Willow Falls series.
The novel follows the life of a young girl named Amanda Ellerby who has spent each of her first ten birthdays with the same boy, her best friend Leonard "Leo" Fitzpatrick. With her 11th birthday fast approaching, a falling out between the two friends has caused a shift in this birthday tradition leading to consequences both of them never could have imagined. Chosen as a 2009 Library Guild Selection, this novel has been the recipient of various nominations and awards across the country.
Plot
Amanda and Leo have been best friends since they were born, but on their 10th birthday, she hears Leo saying terrible things about her and she stops speaking to him.
Their 11th birthday does not go well for Amanda. She spends most of the day feeling sorry for herself and goes to bed disappointed. The next day when she wakes up, she appears to be stuck in the day before. As she gets ready for her birthday party, she realizes she is in a time loop. A few days later, she realizes that she and Leo are stuck in the same time loop. They make up and go on many adventures together and start to uncover why their families have been feuding. While uncovering this information, they also realize why they are in this time loop together.
In the morning, Amanda realizes that she is celebrating her birthday again for the 11th time. She is frustrated but when she gets on the bus she sees the Angelina is the bus driver, who explains why they are in this time loop and what to do to escape it.
Willow Falls
The five novels of the Willow Falls series all have different protagonists, who become friends. They also all revolve around birthdays and are set in the same small town of Willow Falls, with the presence of the mysterious Angelina D’Angelo.
- 11 Birthdays (2009)
- 12 Finally (2010) Rory Swenson has a list of things she wants to do once she turns 12, but after a cryptic prediction from Angelina, most of her attempts to get them end in disaster.
- 13 Gifts (2011) As punishment for stealing a stuffed goat, Tara Brennan is sent to her aunt and uncle in Willow Falls, where after she attempts to sell a stolen vintage comic book, Angelina orders her to gather 13 things by her 13th birthday.
- The Last Present (2013) Grace Kelly enters a frozen state on her 10th birthday, which could have been avoided if Angelina had been able to give her a protective blessing. Amanda and Leo's curse is changed to allow them to travel back in time to Grace's birthdays to give her that blessing, until they find out what she really needs.
- Graceful (2015) Still adjusting to life with her powers, Grace discovers something big in Willow Falls' future, and it's connected to the strange things happening in town.
https://wendymass.com/books/13-gifts/overview/ https://wendymass.com/books/the-last-present/overview/ https://wendymass.com/books/graceful/overview/
