The Super Secret Club by Meredith Costain

Illus. by Danielle McDonald. Ella Diaries. Scholastic, 2019. ISBN: 9781743818084.
(Age: 6 - 9) Recommended. Ella and Zoe, her BFF (Best Friend Forever), seem to be left out of a big secret. The mystery, and all the whispering and giggling is causing Ella and Zoe to feel the pain of exclusion. Will they ever find out? When a fancy pink envelope turns up to explain the super-secret mystery of the created SOAP organisation (Secret Organisation for Amazing People) will all the uncertainty vanish to be replaced by something awesome?
Written in the style of the personal diary record of Ella, it reveals the comic nature of her life, and the family interludes into the mystery, as well as her personal angst about her school friendships. Her created words and struggles to spell some of the more complex vocabulary choices adds an insight into her unique thinking.
Illustrated with the naive cartoon drawings of Danielle McDonald to add additional comic touches, this will be a book enjoyed by young readers who have come to know Ella through her other diary entries in the Ella Diaries series.
Themes: Friendship; Diaries; Secrets.
Carolyn Hull