Lisa’s dad was killed in Vietnam. Her mother served as a nurse and is still traumatized by her experiences. Lisa wants to deal with normal middle school things, but instead, she must worry about her mother. When Lisa’s class begins studying the war, in conjunction with the dedication of “The Wall,” the whole family begins to heal.

A cute story about the difficulties of starting middle school. Kelly and her friends struggle to find their niche, and all of their problems seem to wrap up neatly by the middle of 6th grade and the end of the book. If only middle school had been that easy. . .

Jessica is horrified when she is chosen by her 7th grade teacher to be Daphne’s partner for a book-writing contest. Daphne is the reject in their class, and Jessica would much rather work with one of the popular girls, which would do more for Jessica’s social standing. However, once Jessica and Daphne begin work on their book, Jessica discovers that not only is Daphne a wonderful illustrator, but she’s a good friend too. Jessica must wrestle with her loyalties to Daphne and her desire to be accepted by the popular girls. In addition, Daphne lives with her senile grandmother in terrible conditions. Jessica tries to figure out how to help Daphne without separating her from her grandmother.

Jessica’s struggle between acceptance and doing the right thing is very realistic. Anyone who has ever been in 7th grade can certainly sympathize with her.