The Great Peach Experiment 3

February 1, 2023
The third book in the adventures of the Peach family brings them to Sweden's famous Icehotel. When 8-year-old Freddy Peach wins a grand prize in a sweepstakes for small hotel owners, the Peaches fly to Sweden for a one-week, all-expenses-paid stay at the legendary Icehotel in Kiruna. The narrative follows the same format as the previous two books: Chapters alternate between the third-person points of view of the three Peach children, Lucy, Freddy, and Herb. But this time around, the previous books' spontaneity and earned insights are winnowed down to a somewhat tired recitation of each protagonist's particular fears or challenges--Herb worries, Lucy is maternal, and Freddy is eccentrically creative (cute cartoon spot art shows drawings from his sketchbook). The setting seems to be the focus here, and the descriptions of the remarkable destination, an actual place built out of ice, are evocative. The stakes are low as the hotel staff easily facilitates the Peaches' every desire (ice-carving classes, dog sledding lessons, experiencing the sauna and spa), and the mean girl trope involving another young guest is underdeveloped. The one bit of nuanced tension (Dad doesn't return from an overnight trip when he says he's going to, leading the two older kids to worry that he is retreating into his past neglectful behavior) is relayed with more attention to message than delivery. Main characters are White; there is some diversity in family structure and ethnicity among the other American contest winners. Feels a bit tired. (Fiction. 8-12)

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