The summer before eighth grade for Alice McKinley is traumatic. She is phobic about getting any deeper in the pool or at the beach than her waist - water scares her, but no one else knows. That the normal hangout for many of her friends is at Mark Stedmeister's pool makes her fear even worse. Additionally, her father is dating her English teacher, and he doesn't appreciate Alice's almost constant inquisition about how the relationship is progressing. Her best friends Pamela and Elizabeth help Alice in their quest to also mature, from a sleep-over reading Arabian Nights to using deodorant. 144 pages

Recommended by Aldean Kilbourn, Librarian