Twelfth Review written by the Hobbit on July 31st, 2022. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Author: Janet Key
Genre: mystery, young adult, summer camp
Length: 368 pages
Age suggested: 10 an up
Release Date: May 17, 2022
Warnings: Mental health issues mentioned may be triggering
Quick Summary of Twelfth
Maren is going to summer camp at the Charlotte Goodman Theater Camp for the first time, and she is not excited about it. But she is soon drawn into a mystery that involves the camp’s namesake, which could ensure the camp’s financial survival.
Twelfth Review: (Contains Minor Spoilers)
Twelfth is Nancy Drew meets Shakespeare. The characters are not complex but the book addresses a lot of issues, including depression, handling depression in family relationships, homophobia, and transphobia. Twelfth Hight.
Twelve-year-old Maren is the primary character. Her sister usually attends summer drama camp, but is battling depression. Maren is not pleased with the decision. Arriving at the camp, she soon learns that the production will be Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It may be the last show ever – the camp is in financial difficulty. But there have been rumors for years that the camp’s namesake left a valuable diamond ring hidden.
When she and her nonbinary bunkmate, Theo, who always has camera in hand, help find a missing teacher, Maren receives a clue. The clue, lines from the play, lead her and her friends to other clues – also line from the play. Are they getting close to finding the rumored ring? And who else is looking for it, and to what lengths will they go?
Maren is going to summer camp at the Charlotte Goodman Theater Camp for the first time, and she is not excited about it. But she is soon drawn into a mystery that involves the camp’s namesake, which could ensure the camp’s financial survival.
Continue reading for more of our Twelfth Review.
Why Read Twelfth
Twelfth is a standard middle school mystery in many ways. There are a lot of the themes and topics you would expect. What sets it apart is its deft interweaving of several complex topics into the story. Maren’s sister is fighting depression, and both she and her family are having to learn how to handle this.
Theo is nonbinary, and in the flashbacks we discover that Charlotte Goodman was gender fluid. The book also contains an afterwards to professionally address all of these issues. The flashbacks are a good introduction to a rather dark time in the 1950’s.
Favorite Twelfth Quotes
“In every theater, no matter how large or small, there is one light that never goes off. Long after the actors have bowed and the curtain has closed, long after the audience has left and the sets have been struck and the floor has been swept, there is still one light left shining in the center of”
“I don’t need attention for being different—I am different. I just have to accept who I am. And so does everyone else.”
-From Twelfth by Janet Key
Twelfth Discussion Questions
Themes: gender identity, self discovery
- How familiar are you with Shakespeare? What did you learn reading the book?
- What did you know (if anything) about Hollywood in the 1950’s? Were you surprised?
- Have you ever had a friend or family member with depression? How did it affect you?
- Did the plot twist at the end surprise you? What did you think ab out it?
- Do you have any gender diverse friends?
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