Title: Matilda Author: Roahld Dahl Pages: 240 Publisher: Puffin Books ISBN: 0141301066 Genre: Juvenile Fiction (Fantasy) Synopsis: Matilda is an extrodinary little girl. She is cabable of doing advanced calculations in her head and reading advanced literature. But at age 5 she is struggling with a slothful, negelegnt family and a headmistress who would rather exterminate children than help them develop. With injustice unfolding around her Matilda discovers that her mind is capable of more than mathematics, and she sets out to write the wrongs both in her own life and in the lives of the people who do care. Review: This is one of my favorite books. Matilda is an inspiration both to children and adults in that she finds pure joy in learning and has a completely innocent view of the world. Though many people around her treat her unkindly, her retaliations lack malice and are motivated almost purely by a sense of justice. She has also managed to find an independence that transends her situation allowing her to be happy no matter how bad things get.