Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst

There seems to be something wrong with parents and child, or so the child thinks, No it's not her name, its adolescence. Anastasia begins a Science Project on gerbils (extracts of which are repeated annoyingly at intervals through the book) but ends up analysing herself. Lois Lowry has a gentle and sometimes sharp touch and the best parts are the conversations with Freud -- in bust form, the escape of the gerbils and the attempts to help younger brother Sam cope with the dreaded Nicky Coletti. It's all good fun and sometimes thoughtful too.