For fans of Barbara Dee and Shannon Hale, this poignant coming-of-age middle grade novel explores the ups and down of best friends, crushes, and backyard projects during a summer full of changes and possibilities.

Alex has always known her best friend and next-door neighbor, Will, will be there for her. Thats just how its always been. Until a girl from the pool named Rebekah comes over to them and says hi. Suddenly, Will is changing his clothes, restyling his hair, and breaking all their summer plans and Alex is not happy about it.

Every summer, she and Will come up with a new challenge. This year, its a treehouse. Now Alex is wrangling up summer jobs and keeping tabs on the new girl, hoping that in completing their treehouse, she can keep from losing her best friend and her summer from falling apart. [This book description comes from a different edition of this title. Please report any inaccuracies].

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 256 pages in this book. This book was published in 2023 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers .

Kristi Wientge is originally from Ohio where she grew up writing stories about animals and, her favorite, a jet-setting mouse. After studying to become a teacher for children with special needs, she spent several years exploring the world from China to England, teaching her students everything from English to how to flip their eyelids inside out. She's spent twelve years raising her family in her husband's home country of Singapore, where she spends her days taking her four kids to school, Punjabi lessons, and music. With the help of her mother-in-law, she can now make a mean curry and a super-speedy saag. She is the author of Karma Khullar's Mustache and Honeybees and Frenemies.