The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter

De: Barbara Carroll Roberts

Narrado por: Cat Protano

Bunny Baxter thinks nothing could be worse than starting seventh grade at a school where she knows no one. But after her first day, she realizes things can actually get much worse.

If Bunny Baxter were an insect, she’d have so many ways to slip through seventh grade unnoticed. But she’s tall instead of tiny, has flaming red Medusa hair instead of camouflage, and she suffers from social anxiety, which makes it hard to be part of a swarm. Worst of all, she’s been redistricted to a new middle school away from her best friend who she could always hide behind when her anxiety got the best of her.

The first day at E.D. Britt Middle School does not go well. Bunny trips on the steps, falls into the cutest boy in the school, and causes a kid domino pile-up. At lunch, she unintentionally causes an uproar in the cafeteria, which lands her and another girl in the principal’s office. Bunny decides there is only one option: to get expelled so she can transfer to the school her best friend attends.

She soon discovers that it isn’t that hard to get in trouble—don’t turn in your homework, walk around the track instead of run in P.E., pretend you deliberately hit someone with a badminton birdie. What isn’t so easy for Bunny is realizing she now has a reputation as a troublemaker. And even more confusing, when it looks like her plan to get expelled might work, she’s no longer sure what to do.

The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter is a heartfelt coming-of-age story about an insect-loving girl who is learning to grow into herself, quirks and all.

©2025 Barbara Carroll Roberts (P)2025 Dreamscape Media

middle school can be hard

Middle school is a hard time of life. My husband teaches it, and I think he is crazy. My joke is that I didn't even like my own kids at that age...

But for Bunny Baxter it is even worse. Schools were redistricted and she is sent someplace new, away from her freinds. Bunny is an awkward girl who struggles with anxiety and has an interest in bugs. With her vivid red hair, it is hard for her not to stand out as the new girl.

Bunny wants a safe place where she can fit in and make friends, but feels like that is impossible. She isn't active in sports and clubs. Bunny hears that if you get expelled you are sent to an alternative school, which she misunderstands to mean a different school rather than the actuality. She thinks it is a way to get back to the school she originally attended. And, so, Bunny starts making trouble.

How will she learn to fit in? How will she form friendships?

This is a book about adolescence and the difficulties of finding one's identity when everything around you changes. The characters are reflective of real kids and I enjoyed the chance to follow along with their antics, watching Bunny learn and grow.

I think this book would be enjoyed by many kids in 4th-7th grade.