Wendy Robichaud doesn’t care one bit about being popular like good-looking classmates Tookie and the Sticks–until Brainiac bully John-Monster schemes against her, and someone leaves anonymous sticky-note messages all over school. Even the best friend she always counted on, Jennifer, is hiding something and pulling away. But the spring program, abandoned puppies, and high school track team tryouts don’t leave much time to play detective. And the more Wendy discovers about the people around her, the more there is to learn.When secrets and failed dreams kick off the summer after eighth grade, who will be around to support her as high school starts in the fall?
This Christian YA novel by Cynthia Toney, is about the difficulties of the middle school years. It’s a beautiful story that deals honestly with many difficult subjects such a low self-esteem, depression and other serious issues. Toney does an incredible job of tackling these hard topics in a hopeful and empowering way. I love how the main character finds the strength to take charge and change things for herself by following her 5 step plan to making friends. This is such a great proactive idea that all teens could try. My favorite part of the story was seeing how things changed for the main character over the summer as she prepared for high school. It was so wonderful to see that even though heartache and tragedies occurred things could change and get better, leaving this deep book ending on a wonderfully positive note. This is a great book for any middle school student. And you’ll be thrilled to know there is a sequel!
