Susannah McFarlane, EJ Shines! (EJ12 Girl Hero #21), Scholastic Australia, 1 June 2016, 126pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925206043
Emma (EJ12) is rather disturbed by thoughts of impending changes in her life, because soon she will be a year older and moving on to high school – but before she can become too down-hearted, she is drawn into the lively action and cliff-hanging adventures of her final mission as EJ12, Girl Hero. The Head of SHINE went missing, just after she uncovered a secret laboratory that illegally and cruelly uses animals for cosmetics-testing. Emma is soon off to the Great Barrier Reef to search for the laboratory, and to try to discover the whereabouts of the Head of SHINE.
Easy to read, fast paced, showcasing a wide variety of SHINE’s highly imaginative, inventive technology and with lots of entertaining complex coded messages for readers to solve, this is a fun adventure for girls in mid to upper primary years. Fans of the EJ12 adventures (this is mission #21!) should love it.
Reviewed by Chloe Mauger