Three girls with contrasting personalities and problems are good seventh grade friends. Main character Stephanie is a compulsive eater whose brother worries about nuclear war and whose parents' marriage is ending; Rachel is a gifted musician and credit card shopper; and Alison is an adopted Vietnamese girl with a celebrity parent. Blume's snappy dialogue incorporates contemporary details of upper middle class life so well that the plot and character contrivances probably show only to adult readers. She integrates elements of sexuality common to middle schoolers with even greater finesse than in her earlier books. Her adult characters are sympathetically presented. The theme is important: avoidance of reality does not alter it. (Ages 11-13)

From the New York Times bestselling author of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and the adult bestseller In the Unlikely Event comes a tale of family, friendship, and pre-teen life like only JUDY BLUME can deliver. The companion to Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson.
 
Can you have more than one best friend?

Stephanie’s best friend is Rachel. Since second grade they’ve shared everything, good and bad. But now it’s the start of seventh grade and Alison has just moved to their neighborhood. Stephanie immediately clicks with her—she’s cool and fun and totally humble even though she’s the daughter of a famous actress. Stephanie hopes all three of them can be best friends, but the more she pushes Alison on Rachel, the more Rachel seems to drift away. Is it possible to have two best friends? Or is it true that two’s company, three’s a crowd?
 
“Judy Blume does it again in what may be her best book yet!” –American Bookseller