"During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom, where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in."--T.p. verso.

Stephanie's relationship with her best friend, Rachel, changes during her first year in junior high as she tries to conceal a family problem and meets a new girl from California.

Seventh grade was going to be awesome. The only thing missing was Mr. Terupt. The kids from Mr. Terupt's fifth- and sixth-grade classes are entering their first year of junior high school. There's a lot to be excited about, but there are new challenges, too. Peter and Jeffrey face tough competition on their wrestling team. Alexia has a disastrous first day of school, and that's only the beginning. Anna is desperate for Charlie to propose to her mother--what...

It's 1982, and the Dicksons move to a southern town where all the girls long for Farrah Fawcett type curls. Pre-teen Aurelie begs her parents for a perm hoping for a life-changing curly waves but the bored student/beautician accidentally sets the timer for too long. Now Aurelie is left as a gawky yet endearing young teenager trying to navigate junior high.