Helen Plum Library

Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school (the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year) before she begins high school

The kids in these humorous short stories each have a minor superpower they're learning to live with. One can shape-shift--but only part of her body, and only on Mondays. Another can always tell whether an avocado is perfectly ripe. One can even hear the thoughts of the animals in the pet store! But what these stories are really about is their young protagonists "owning" a power that contributes to their individuality, that allows them to find their...

For Merci Sùrez, eighth grade means a new haircut, nighttime football games, and an out-of-town overnight field trip. At home, it means more chores and keeping an eye on Lolo as his health worsens. It's a year filled with more responsibility and independence, but also with opportunities to reinvent herself. Merci has always been fine with not being one of the popular kids like Avery Sanders, who will probably be the soccer captain and is always...

A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family's vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school. After her local mosque is vandalized, she is devastated. Her friend Soojin is talking about changing her name. Does Amina need to become more "American" and hide who she really is?

Best friends Isaac and Marco face various challenges in sixth grade, such as Isaac getting better grades, Marco winning a spot on the basketball team, and both seeing their efforts make a change in their respective family lives. They hope their friendship and support for one another will be enough to help them from falling short

It is Spirit Week at Zoey Webber's middle school, and she is having a blast coming up with themed outfits for herself and her friends Kate, Priti, and Libby. Everyone is in high spirits ... until one girl is the victim of a Hat Day prank. When Zoey writes about the incident on her Sew Zoey blog, the post gets one nasty comment after another, and another, and another. At first Zoey tries to ignore it,but as the meanness multiplies, she can't help...

Jamie is crushing on Hudson. Someone too-gross-to-be- named is crushing on Jamie. And Hudson is crushing on . . . Princess Turd of Turdsylvania (a.k.a. The Prettiest Girl in the World). Middle school may be grim, but it's no fairy tale. And crazy doesn't even begin to cover it. Jamie Kelly writes in her diary about her crush on Mr. Prince, the new student teacher at Mackerel Middle School, and she feels certain that he is the secret admirer who is...

"...Isabella is probably right. She almost always is...But of all the dumb things she's ever done, this has got to be the dumbest..."--Cover back

Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don't have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be...

Middle school retrieval specialist Jeremy Wilderson again must work with his archrival, Becca Mills, when someone sabotages the Summer Art Show where Case's work is being exhibited