Well, That Was Awkward

Gracie is happy with how things are with her group of friends.  She and Sienna have been best friends forever, and Emmott and AJ round out their inner circle.  Emmott has lived downstairs for years, and even though he's a guy, Gracie considers him one of her closest friends.

Things change when one day Gracie looks at AJ and her heart flips.  What is going on?  It's just AJ, her friend.  Why has she suddenly turned into a studdering idiot?  Then Riley, the resident mean girl, asks Gracie for a favor.  She wants Gracie to ask Emmott to ask AJ who he likes.  The answer stirs up life for everyone.  AJ doesn't like Riley, he likes Sienna, Gracie's best friend!

Gracie vows to put her crush aside and help her two most beautiful friends get together.  The only problem?  Sienna is too nervous to talk to AJ by herself, so Gracie ends up first telling Sienna what to text and finally texting him herself.  AJ is so different in texts.  He's never as funny in person.

Rachel Vail's hilarious middle school update of Cyrano de Bergerac will keep kids reading and laughing.  Bonus!  It's a totally sweet and appropriate middle school love story.  A side plot about Gracie's older sister who died adds depth to the story and keeps her parents and Gracie's relationship with them from being one-dimensional.  Highly recommended.