Most Popular Books by Rachel Vail

Gracie has never felt like this before. One day, she suddenly can’t breathe, can’t walk, can’t anything—and the reason is standing right there in front of her, all tall and weirdly good-looking: A.J. But it turns out A.J. likes not Gracie but Gracie’s beautiful best friend, Sienna. Obviously Gracie is happy for Sienna. Super happy! She helps Sienna compose the best texts, responding to A.J.’s surprisingly funny and appealing texts, just as if she were Sienna. Because Gracie is fine. Always! She’s had lots of practice being the sidekick, second-best. It’s all good. Well, almost all. She’s trying. Funny and tender, Well, That Was Awkward goes deep into the heart of middle school, and finds that even with all the heartbreak, there can be explosions of hope and moments of perfect happiness.

When Katie Honors feels angry and out of control, her mother helps her to be herself again.

Josie, a fifteen-year-old high school sophomore, is smart, funny, and very much her own person, but when popular senior Carson Gold starts wooing her, she cannot resist his attention.

As she waits to present the ten items that she has chosen for an assignment to represent who she is, seventh-grader Morgan Miller recalls the events in her life that led to her choices.

A sweet and touching exploration of the scariness of BIG feelings and overcoming the pressures to do everything "just right," in this companion title to bestselling picture book Sometimes I''m Bombaloo. Katie Honors is a really nice kid. But there’s one little secret that sometimes makes her feel not-so-nice deep inside: her little brother, Chuck. Katie loves her brother and works hard to be the perfect big sister but it can be hard. Chuck can sometimes be just so icky and messy. Sometimes it makes Katie secretly wish she had a trampoline or a treehouse or a giraffe instead of a brother. When all these emotions bubble up to the surface, Katie can no longer grumblesquinch them down. She explodes, but she also learns an important lesson: that there’s room for ALL of her feelings, even the scary ones. Sometimes I Grumblesquinch masterfully explores the pressure children often feel to be perfect all the time and helps them realize that it''s okay to share frustrating, and at times, not-so-nice thoughts and seek comfort from adults to help them manage those feelings. This story explores key social emotional skills that kids need to navigate complicated feelings, and will live alongside bestsellers like When Sophie Gets Really Really Angry and How Do Dinosaurs Say I''m Mad. Once again, Rachel Vail taps into universal childhood experiences that are often left unexplored, and does so with sensitivity, humor, and respect for the wide range of emotions kids face today.

Seventh-grader Zoe, who comes from a big family where she''s never had anything all to herself, desperately wants CJ for a best friend, but when CJ reveals that she likes the boy Zoe likes, she must make a choice.

Rachel Vail''s powerful middle-grade novel proves once again that no one does tween better than she does! Niki Ames can''t wait to start eighth grade, that all-important year before high school. She and her best friend Ava have shared so many plans for the coming year. But then the unthinkable happens: at gym class pair-up, Ava chooses someone else to be her partner. Niki is devastated. It''s clear that Ava wants to be part of the popular group, leaving Niki behind. Niki has to decide who her real friends should be, where her real interests lie. Meanwhile, life at home is complicated. Niki''s nine-year-old brother Danny continues to act out more and more publicly. Their mother refuses to admit that Danny is somewhere on the autism spectrum, but it''s clear he needs help. Niki doesn''t want to be like her brother, to be labeled as different. She just wants to be popular! Is she a bad sister and a bad best friend?

In middle school, nothing is more important than friendship. When Truly is invited to sit at the Popular Table with the group she has dreamed of joining, she can hardly believe her luck. Everyone seems so nice, so kind to one another. But all is not as it seems with her new friends, and soon she''s caught in a maelstrom of lies, misunderstandings, accusations and counter-accusations, all happening very publicly in the relentless, hyperconnected social media world from which there is no escape. Six eighth-graders, four girls and two boys, struggle to understand and process their fractured glimples into one another''s lives as they find new ways to disconnect, but also to connect, in Rachel Vail''s richest and most searching book.

Best friends stick together in Rachel Vail''s Friendship Ring series! Growing up is never easy. But when things get tough, you can always count on your best friends. CJ, Olivia, Morgan and Zoe know one thing for sure: they’ll always have each other! CJ has been taking ballet for years. But doing ballet means lots of practice and missing out on stuff like soccer with her friends and the big seventh-grade field trip. On top of that, the friendship ring she bought with Zoe is causing trouble in the group. CJ is sure that quitting ballet will make things better with her friends, but it would devastate her mother. All CJ wants is a chance to be happy without hurting anyone else, but is that possible?

Everything changes for twelve-year-old Jessica when she enters junior high school and finds herself a social outcast, ignored by all her former friends.

When Katie''s best friend Jennifer plays with Roy at recess instead of with her, Katie is surprised and angry.

During her summer at Camp Nashaquitsa, eleven-year-old Abby tries to reinvent herself, while worrying about her mother, missing her dead father, and getting to know her equally self-conscious bunkmates.

Another heartfelt and tender story about dealing with BIG feelings from the bestselling author of Sometimes I''m Bombaloo and Sometimes I Grumblesquinch, Rachel Vail. Katie Honors is a really brave kid. She can go to bed with just one small night light. She can hold her tears in when it''s time to say goodbye to her mom at school. But sometimes Katie isn''t ready to say goodbye and doesn''t feel brave at all. When this happens, she Kaplooms! She refuses to let go of her mom, and everything is flurried as she begins to cry. Her emotions feel frightening. It''s not the Katie Honors she wants to be. But her mother assures Katie that she can be both brave and sad, brave and crying, brave and scared. Sometimes I Kaploom masterfully explores how hard it can be for children when they''re nervous or scared and have to transition to new places and faces when they just don''t feel quite ready. In another poignant, honest, and insightful story, readers learn along with Katie that bravery and fear are not mutually exclusive.

The fourth book in bestselling author Rachel Vail''s beloved Friendship Ring series! 4 rings, 1 promise: Best Friends Forever Olivia is the ''brain'' of the group and she''s not afraid to speak her mind. So when the rest of her friends gush over guys and clothes, she can''t see what the big deal is. That sort of thing has never been important to her. Until she starts to have strange feelings for a boy in her class, made worse by the fact that her friend Morgan thinks he''s a total dork. Now, Olivia finds herself keeping her feelings inside, when she knows she should just be honest with her friends.

Even though Lefty and Righty like different things, they find they must learn to get along together without tripping over each other.

Thirteen-year-old Whitman has to deal with the anger he feels towards his father when his parents separate, his own interest in several girls, and the heady feeling of acting in his first play.

Most piglets want to be pigs when they grow up. Not Liam. He wants to be a bunny. Even if it takes a lot of practice to learn how to hop...and to eat salad. Even if no one believes that a piggy can be a bunny. With a lot of determination, and a little help from his grandma, Liam is determined to make his dream come true. For children who put on a cape or a tutu, who dream of being someone or something different, Piggy Bunny offers a reassuring and fun opportunity to believe in themselves.

When T needs to make a diorama about pigs for school and doesn''t know anything about dioramas or pigs, his single working mother, Mama Rex, helps him pull his project together. Simultaneous.

Edward and Meg are like night and day. How could such different people be twins? Well, they are, but they don''t have to like it -- or each other. For seventh grade, brainy Meg is attending ultra-competitive Fischer, while freewheeling Edward goes to an alternative school downtown. But it''s just when they''re finally out of each other''s shadows that the trouble begins. Meg''s aspirations for popularity and a boyfriend combine with Edward''s devious planning and lack of singing ability to set off a showdown the likes of which twindom has never before seen. Why is this final showdown so much fun? Could it be that Meg and Edward are more alike than they thought?

It''s all good . . . and lucky Phoebe Avery plans to celebrate by throwing an end-of-the-year bash with her four closest friends. Everything will be perfect—from the guest list to the fashion photographer to the engraved invitations. The only thing left to do is find the perfect dress . . . until Phoebe goes from having it all to hiding all she''s lost. Phoebe''s older sisters warn her to keep the family''s crisis totally secret. Unfortunately, her alpha-girl best friend looks increasingly suspicious, and Phoebe''s crush starts sending seriously mixed signals. Phoebe tries hard to keep smiling, but when her mother is humiliated in Neiman Marcus while buying Phoebe that perfect dress and her father decides to cancel her party, she panics. How far will she go to keep up her image as a lucky girl? With lucky, Rachel Vail begins a powerful sisterhood trilogy, comprised of one book for each of the three fascinating Avery sisters, with all their secrets laid bare during the year that completely changes their lives. Phoebe is the youngest; her story combines first love and flip-flops, friendship and sisterhood, humor and tears. Breezy, witty, and poignant, lucky is Rachel Vail at her breathtaking best.

T is frustrated when he first tries to read, but when his teacher shows him some simple rules, he finds out that reading can be fun.

Everything is going to be fine . . . . Quinn Avery can handle change. It''s just paint, right? Bright, blinding white paint covering her once dazzling red bedroom walls. Quinn knows she shouldn''t be angry at her mom—she''s doing what she must to sell the house—but still, Quinn is beyond mad, and she doesn''t know what to do about it. Until now, Quinn was doing a pretty good job at pretending to be her old self—calm and brilliant Avery daughter, responsible big sister to Allison and Phoebe, piano virtuoso, girl who makes everyone proud—but without the sanctuary of her room, a new, wild Quinn is emerging. Lying, sneaking out, partying, Quinn is practically asking to get caught. When Quinn adds kissing the wrong boys—including her sister''s boyfriend and her own piano teacher—to her list of crimes, has she gone too far to save herself? Brilliant, the final book in Rachel Vail''s critically acclaimed sisterhood series, which includes Lucky and Gorgeous, follows Quinn through a summer of change as she discovers that while letting go is never easy, hanging on can be even harder. Witty and poignant, Brilliant is the perfect ending to this addictive trilogy of interconnected sister stories.

While rehearsing a Broadway-style production of the familiar nursery rhyme, Hiram Diddle Diddle and a violin-playing cat encourage a cow to keep jumping until she makes it OVER the moon.

Fourteen-year-old Charlie feels guilty because she has a crush on her best friend''s boyfriend, and her loyalties become even more confused when she discovers that her mother is dating the boyfriend''s father.

She''s looking good . . . but Allison Avery can''t believe it. Growing up with beautiful, blond sisters, Allison has always been the dark-haired, "interesting-looking" Avery. So when the devil shows up and offers to make her gorgeous, Allison jumps at the chance to finally get noticed. But there''s one tiny catch, and it''s not her soul: The devil wants her cell phone. Though her deal with the devil seems like a good idea at the time, Allison soon realizes that being gorgeous isn''t as easy as it looks. Are her new friends and boyfriend for real, or do they just like her pretty face? Allison can''t trust anyone anymore, and her possessed phone and her family''s financial crisis aren''t making things any easier. Plus, when she finds out that she might be America''s next teen model, all hell breaks loose. Allison may be losing control, but how far is she willing to go to stay gorgeous forever? Following the critically acclaimed Lucky, Rachel Vail continues her poignant sisterhood trilogy with the rebellious middle Avery sister, Allison. Fiery, sarcastic, and just plain fun, gorgeous captures the heartbreak and hilarity in one girl''s attempt to have it all.

The first in a new chapter book series spinning off of the Justin Case books, starring Justin''s little sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is in second grade. Class 2B! It''s great! Friends, recess, homework! Even a big project: Make a poster of your name. Yayyy! Hang on. The name Elizabeth has a bajillion letters in it! The name Anna has only four letters. Plus, Anna''s first letter is A, which is also the first letter of Alphabetical Order. But Anna can''t always be first! That''s not fair! In A is for Elizabeth, Elizabeth makes more than a poster. She also makes some important choices—about fairness, rules, speaking up, and glue. But the most important thing she makes is...a friend! With copious line art by Paige Keiser, this first book in a new series—spun off from Rachel Vail''s beloved Justin Case series—is sure to delight fans of Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones, and Clementine.

It''s the start of the school year, and nothing feels right to Justin. He didn''t get the teacher he wanted, he''s not in the same class as his best friend, and his little sister, Elizabeth, is starting kindergarten at his school. Elizabeth doesn''t seem nervous at all. Justin is very nervous about third grade. And to top it off, he''s lost his favorite stuffed animal, but he can''t tell anyone, because technically he''s too old to still have stuffed animals. Right? Here is third grade in all its complicated glory—the friendships, the fears, and the advanced math. Acclaimed author Rachel Vail captures third grade with a perfect pitch, and Matthew Cordell''s line art is both humorous and touching. As Justin bravely tries to step out of his shell, he will step into readers'' hearts. Justin Case is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children''s Book of the Year.

Big Mouth Elizabeth is the second in a new chapter book series spinning off of the Justin Case books, starring Justin''s little sister, Elizabeth. Second-grader Elizabeth longs to be a member of the Big Mouth Club, which is made up of kids who have lost at least one baby tooth. Elizabeth is WAY behind on losing her baby teeth, and so is Cali, a quiet girl who is also left out of the Big Mouth Club. Elizabeth thinks Cali is so much more babyish than she is—in fact, Elizabeth SHOULD be in the Big Mouth Club because she''s NOT babyish. But when she understands how bad it feels to be left out, Elizabeth''s attitude shifts. Here is a story about fitting in in unexpected ways. With copious line art by Paige Keiser, this second book in Rachel Vail''s Elizabeth series is sure to delight fans of Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones, and Clementine.

On a stormy Saturday, T and Mama Rex stare at the television until the electricity goes off and they must find something else to do.

Cat Ears on Elizabeth is the third in Rachel Vail''s A Is for Elizabeth chapter book series--featuring illustrations by Paige Keiser. Cat ears on your headband is not the only way to look great. But it is a very good way. Mallory has glitter folders and bright orange sneakers and a huge pink eraser. And Mallory has cat ears on her headband. Then Anna comes to school with cat ears on her headband, too. Everybody loves how they look in those cat-ear headbands. Especially Elizabeth. Elizabeth doesn’t have cat ears on her anything. She doesn’t even have any headband at all anymore. (They squish her head too much). Elizabeth needs a cat-ears headband! It’s an emergency! Maybe a surprise I Love You present from her grandparents will fix everything. Or maybe Elizabeth doesn’t need to be fixed at all.

What kind of shoes can a Tyrannosaurus Rex wear? Lots! Just ask Mama Rex and T. They are off to the store to buy a new pair of shoes for T. But there are so many to choose from. There are snow boot, sneakers, sandals and more. What are the right shoes for T. Find out in this funny story.

When T Rex and his mother have a difficult morning rushing out in a rainstorm, they return home and T finally gets his waffle breakfast.

Kiss Me Again, the sequel to Rachel Vail''s beloved contemporary teen romance If We Kiss, follows Charlie (Charlotte) Collins as she struggles with her feelings for her longtime crush Kevin Lazarus after their parents marry and he becomes her stepbrother. It was complicated enough when their parents were only dating and Kevin was going out with Charlie''s best friend, Tess. Now, living under one roof, Charlie and Kevin are crossing paths and crossing lines, sneaking around at night and then sitting down to breakfast together as a family. It feels so crazy—exciting, confusing, impossible, and romantic. It can''t last, not like this, but if anybody discovers their secret, everything could explode. . . . Praised for her wit and realism, award-winning author Rachel Vail delivers a poignant tale of first love and powerful kisses, at long last answering the question of what happens when a crush so off-limits it has to be fantasy suddenly becomes very real.

Doodlebug Elizabeth is the fourth title in Rachel Vail''s A Is for Elizabeth chapter book series--featuring illustrations by Paige Keiser. Class 2B is getting pets! What pets will they be? Elizabeth does not like surprises, but she does like pets. And she loves butterflies! Even when they are baby butterflies and just look like smudges. (But, honestly, less.) When Elizabeth gives her teacher a great idea with her doodles, every kid in 2B gets to choose one animal each to learn about! Elizabeth ends up with...JELLYFISH. She does not feel a little disappointed with her choice. Elizabeth has never felt a little ANYTHING in her entire life. While the smudges grow into butterflies, Elizabeth is growing too – discovering that she can use her love of doodling to help deal with all her big feelings. Even her feelings about goodbyes, and surprises...and jellyfish!

With nobody to trust, Molly admits what''s happening only in her new journal. She writes about the shoplifting, the force Jason still exerts on her, the secret fantasies about Vicky''s brother and the torture of being torn apart by her two best friends.