Twelve-year-old Lucy Desberg is a natural problem-solver. At her family’s struggling pharmacy, she has a line of makeover customers for every school dance and bat mitzvah. But all the makeup tips in the world won’t help save the business. If only she could find a way to make it the center of town again—a place where people want to spend time, like in the old days. Lucy dreams up a solution that could resuscitate the family business and help the environment, too. But will Lucy’s family stop fighting long enough to listen to a seventh-grader? In a starred review, Kirkus said this novel “successfully delivers an authentic and endearing portrait of the not-quite-teen experience,” and Booklist called it “a warm, uplifting debut.” Readers everywhere have responded to Lucy’s independence and initiative—not to mention her great style. F&P level: T F&P genre: RF

Rockwood Hills Junior High is known for the close-knit cliques that rule the school. When arty new girl Dina gets the opportunity to do a video project with queen bee Chelsea, she thinks this is her ticket to a great new social life. But Chelsea has bigger problems than Dina can imagine: her father has lost his job, and her family is teetering on the brink. Without knowing it, Dina might just get caught in Chelsea’s free fall. Filled with honest truths about status and self-confidence, as well as the bubbly, infectious voice Lisa Greenwald mastered in her breakout, My Life in Pink & Green, this book is sure to charm tween readers everywhere.

When a blizzard threatens to ruin Valentine’s Day, three seventh-grade friends make and distribute fortune cookies to their lonely neighbors—and confront the secrets they’ve been keeping from one another. Confident Kate doesn’t notice much but the latest gossip, and shy Georgia can’t say out loud what’s always on her mind. They’re joined by observant, careful Olivia, whose epic, single-minded crush on PBJ (real name: Phillip Becker-Jacobs) is starting to frustrate them. Using fortune cookies that mysteriously always seem to speak directly to the person who opens them, the three girls try to work together to bring some love to their building while reminding each other why they’re such good friends to begin with.

Lucy Desberg is in eighth grade, and she’s determined to make this year perfect. Over the course of the year, though, her talents for makeup and problem-solving will be put to the test.On the outside, things couldn’t be better: her family’s spa is doing well, and she has a boyfriend, Yamir. But Yamir’s in high school now, and Lucy’s too embarrassed to admit that he hasn’t called her in weeks. To take her mind off him, she throws herself into planning the eighth-grade masquerade, using her makeup skills to rally her classmates. But as she soon learns, ignoring a problem does not make it go away. It’s destined to pop up at the worst possible time.Lucy’s resourcefulness will be put to the test as she grows up and starts making decisions about the type of person—and girlfriend and friend and daughter and sister—that she wants to be.

Told entirely in text messages, this addictive new series from the acclaimed author of My Life in Pink & Green is perfect for fans of Lauren Myracle and Wendy Mass. To be honest, middle school is rough! Cecily, Gabby, and Prianka have been BFFAE since pre-K, so it’s totally natural when they don’t include the new girl, Victoria, in their plans and group texts. Between organizing the school Valentine’s Day dance, prepping for their first boy-girl party, and trying to keep their texts so boring their moms won’t use spy apps to read them, the friends only have time for each other. But when Victoria is accidentally sent a hurtful text message, the entire sixth grade gets called out for bullying, cell phones are confiscated, and the trio known as CPG4Eva is forced to figure out just how strong their friendships are IRL.

Fans of Lauren Myracle and Wendy Mass will love acclaimed author Lisa Greenwald’s new series about two best friends who kick-start middle school with a bucket list of eleven things they need to do to become AMAZING before their joint twelfth birthday party. The first day of middle school means trading in freeze tag at the pool for new schedules, fabulous outfits, and a fresh start. But for eleven-year-old Kaylan, the chaos of new locker combinations, cafeteria cliques, and potential first kisses is more than she can handle. She dreads the start of sixth grade and feels like she wants—no, needs—a winning game plan. Luckily, Kaylan and her effortlessly chill BFF, Arianna, have a fool-proof plan for tackling transitions: a list of eleven things they need to do to totally transform themselves before they both turn twelve in November. But between making guy friends, getting detention (and makeovers!), helping humanity, and having super-candid conversations with their moms about their flaws, the first 100 days of school turn out worse than Kaylan ever imagined. Kaylan and Ari forget to focus on their friendship and soon their loyalty to the list—what was meant to help them keep it together—becomes the very thing tearing their lives apart.

BFFs Ari and Kaylan make a new bucket list as they set out for different summer camps in the fourth and final Friendship List novel. The perfect summer read for fans of Lauren Myracle and Rachel Renee Russo’s Dork Diaries! Ari and Kaylan aren’t sure how they’re going to survive their first summer apart. No pool. No sleepovers. No emergency late night chats on the porch. So as Ari returns to Camp Silver and Kaylan heads off to comedy camp, they come up with a new list of 13 and 3/4 ways to keep their friendship strong as they tackle everything from bias to batik and moping to matchmaking. Told in alternating perspectives, the fourth book in the popular Friendship List series is sure to make readers cry, laugh, and start plotting their own friendship lists.