The It Girl

Gr 5–8—In this witty British import, a middle schooler must face her own insecurity after her social status gets an unexpected boost. Anna Huntley, 12, is most comfortable at home with her journalist single dad, watching old movies and communing with her pet/soulmate, Dog. She's terrified she'll embarrass her only friends, Jess and Danny, into abandoning her. Anna's quirky personality and frequent misreading of situations are bemusing, even to Jess. When Anna's father starts dating a superstar, the potential for public humiliation is high. For naive Anna, navigating the limelight as well as normal adolescence (crushes! field trips!) is a test for her already shaky social instincts. After she imperils both her sweet fledgling romance with a fellow nerd and, worse, her friendship with Jess, she must rely on her new blended family's support to scheme her way back to happiness. Smart plotting has the well-developed adult characters and Marianne, Anna's surprisingly nice celebutante sister, demonstrate that anyone worth knowing is a little dorky. Birchall's debut is appropriate for younger readers yet sharp enough to keep older middle schoolers rooting for a well-earned happy ending. There are flaws: a slightly slow start, some culturally insensitive asides—Anna's goals include feeding rice to African children, and unlikely tween email habits.