New Releases by Susan Beth Pfeffer

When her best friend’s parents separate, a seventh grader struggles to keep their friendship alive When Carrie and Jill are alone together, they can be anyone in the whole world. Whether they’re pretending to be movie stars, environmental activists, or the leaders of the free world, there is one thing they don’t have to imagine: They are as close as any friends could be. Going into seventh grade, there is a lot that Carrie is afraid of, but she knows Jill will be by her side forever—until, suddenly, she’s not. When Jill’s father announces that he wants a divorce, it puts a distance between the two friends that never used to be there. As Jill’s life falls apart around her, Carrie must find a way to talk to her friend again and save her from a problem that’s anything but make-believe.

An incurable gossip tries to learn how to keep secrets to herself Sometimes Cass just can’t help herself. Tell her something personal, even something embarrassing, and before you know it, the whole school will have heard. It’s not that Cass doesn’t want to keep secrets—she just doesn’t know how. After her bad habit lands her in a fight with one of her friends, Cass asks her family for help. Mom proposes a psychological experiment. Every time Cass manages to keep a secret, she’ll get a dollar—and a lesson worth far more than that. It’s easy at first, but pretty soon Cass is so full of gossip, she feels like she’s going to burst. When an earth-shattering secret traps her in the middle of her two best friends, she learns that sometimes it’s more important not to keep your mouth shut.

Tending to a veteran’s grave leads a boy on a search for his father The battlefield at Gettysburg is a landscape of rolling hills, thickly wooded forests, and monuments to men who died here long ago. When Joey looks at this peaceful landscape, he sees it through the eyes of Joshua Gibbs, a soldier from his hometown who came to Gettysburg to save the Union. Joey comes here with his stepfather hoping to learn more about the soldier whose story has captured his imagination, but he will leave obsessed with another person’s history: his own. Joey doesn’t know much about his biological father, who left his mother long ago, and he has never been all that curious. But during the trip to Gettysburg, his stepfather announces that he wants to adopt him. This surprising declaration sends Joey on a frantic search for his birth father—a search that uncovers truths even harder to understand than those of Gettysburg, and just as painful as any battle ever fought.

After saving a young boy’s life, a girl finds that fame can be a real headache On the last warm day of autumn, Dana and her best friend eat ice cream, gossip, and complain about school. It’s just like any other afternoon until Dana walks home and sees a toddler break away from his mother and sprint into the street. Without thinking, she chases after him, pushing him onto the sidewalk just before a giant blue car would have run them both down. She didn’t mean to do it, but Dana has become a heroine—and her life will never be the same. Saving the boy makes her the darling of the entire town. She gets a story written about her in the paper, praise from strangers—even a beautiful Persian kitten as a gift from the boy’s mother. At first she loves the attention, but she soon learns that being a celebrity brings hardship, too—and a challenge that will require her to show courage in a whole new way.

To save her business, a young entrepreneur dreams bigger than ever before When she wanted a new bike, Janie started doing odd jobs around the neighborhood for a dollar an hour. She promised her clients that no job was too big or too small—and Kid Power was born. By the end of the summer, she had regular clients, employees, and a steady stream of income—all the makings of a tiny business empire. But after Labor Day, summer work vanished, and Kid Power was no more. Janie is about to give up on the business when she realizes that there will be snow on the ground soon—snow that needs shoveling. She reinvents Kid Power as a cold-weather company, doing all the winter chores that people will pay her to do. But when the money starts rolling in, so does trouble. Kid Power may be headed for the deep freeze.

Winner of the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and the Sequoyah Children’s Book Award:To save money for a bike, a young girl becomes a business tycoon Janie is desperate for a new bike, but her parents won’t buy her one unless she can pay for half of it herself. She’s too young to babysit and it’s too late to get a paper route, so Janie decides to open her own business. She calls it Kid Power and promises her customers that there is no problem too big or too small for her to handle—but this budding entrepreneur will soon find that running a company isn’t as easy as it looks. As Janie begins walking dogs, feeding cats, cleaning gutters, and pulling weeds, she gets closer and closer to her bike. But as Kid Power grows bigger than Janie can handle, she learns that there are some problems money can’t solve, and some things even more important than getting a new bike.

Tracy’s favorite TV star is coming to town, and she will do anything to meet him face to face The two people Tracy loves most are Rabbit O’Shea, a smooth-talking bad boy, and Ross Perlman, an innocent young man with a golden voice. She could never choose between them, and she’ll never have to, because Rabbit is a TV character, and Ross is the actor who plays him. When Ross announces a concert in Tracy’s hometown, she pledges to do whatever it takes to meet the real-life Rabbit—a decision that could cost her everything she holds dear. She and her best friend, Andrea, make a pact that they will meet Ross together or not at all. But when one of them gets the chance to meet him alone, it threatens to tear their friendship apart. Suddenly, Tracy finds herself longing for the days when Ross Perlman was just another poster on her wall.

After her father moves away, Laurie sends her love by mail The scariest thing Laurie has ever seen is a half-empty house, which she discovered the day her dad moved away. The divorce was a long time coming, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. To stay in touch with her father, Laurie’s mom forces her to write him a letter each week, keeping him updated on everything from quizzes and tests to parties and boys. At first, the letters are a chore, a painful reminder that Dad isn’t around anymore, but with every stamp she licks, Laurie finds herself growing up just a little bit more. This remarkable novel, told entirely through Laurie’s letters to her father, is a powerful story of divorce and renewal that proves it’s not impossible to love someone from afar.

People think Annie can handle anything, and she can—but only because the alternative is worse Annie’s summer in New York City was every teenager’s dream. Being chosen as a summer intern at Image magazine meant the chance to work on real articles during the day and enjoy the independence and excitement of city life outside office hours. But now, going back to her high school routine feels like punishment—especially when the promised editorial job at the school paper doesn’t work out the way she planned. Annie knows she’s ready for bigger challenges, but it feels like every time she keeps her calm and saves the day, she gets punished for her own success. Suddenly she’s tired of being the boring old dependable honor student that everyone thinks is getting along just fine. Annie tells her mom she has a right to get angry sometimes, and at first it does feel good to tell people what she really thinks. But can Annie keep her job, her boyfriend, and her family close when getting mad turns into getting even?

On their first hiatus from TV’s cool new prime-time series, Bill, Miranda, TJ, Alison, Rafe, and Molly are looking forward to getting back to the real world—but will they ever be normal teenagers again? The first season of Hard Time High is over, and Bill, Miranda, TJ, Alison, Rafe, and Molly have three whole weeks to themselves. It’s back to high school for Bill—no more cramming in homework between takes—and spending quality time with his girlfriend, Calista. After years of acting on the road, Molly can’t wait to share a real Thanksgiving with Miranda and her family in New England. Between a commitment to a holiday parade and a spread for a fashion magazine, Alison won’t have much time for herself. Rafe is taking his parents on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii. And TJ’s headed to Indiana to visit his mom. Then it’s on to New York to meet his East Coast fan club before he strikes out for London and Paris. But it seems that Rafe, Molly, and TJ are keeping major, scandal-worthy secrets. In between reuniting with old friends and doing normal stuff like attending football games, they’re all trying to cope with their new celebrity and wondering what the new season has in store.

Alison, Molly, TJ, Miranda, Rafe, and Bill have been on Hard Time High for five months—but real life is a lot more complicated than any TV script could make it seem Things are changing on the set of prime time’s new hit series. For starters, the producer’s daughter, bratty twelve-year-old Susie Goldstein, now has a role on the show. Sixteen-year-old Alison Blake, a former Miss Young America, has been wowing audiences since she was three . . . and supporting her family on her looks. Now she wants to be judged on her own merits. She gets a welcome reality check when her high school boyfriend, Seth Lewin, shows up on the set and announces he’s moving to Los Angeles to be near her. Alison has to fight for the right to date Seth while keeping a secret that could get Molly fired from the show. Seasoned TV veteran Bill Douglas is vice president of his junior class. He wants to have it all—success, celebrity, and love. But his longtime girlfriend, Calista Hasbrouck, doesn’t seem to see things his way. They’re all on their way to stardom. But will the limelight translate into lasting fame—or leave them with broken dreams?

A cast member of TV’s number-one show is about to be fired—how will Alison, Bill, TJ, Rafe, Molly, Miranda, and Susie handle the possibility of being unemployed? A bombshell has just been dropped on the cast of TV’s Hard Time High: A major new storyline is being introduced. But it means someone is going to get canned from the show. Former childhood star TJ has lived through this before, when his previous hit TV show was canceled. Used to the steady paycheck after a life on the road, Molly makes a list of her options. Left with a mountain of debt if he gets axed, Rafe’s only hope is the movie he just filmed. If ex–teen beauty queen Alison loses her job, how will she go on supporting her family? After years of commercials and made-for-TV movies, Bill doesn’t want to lose his chance at a real career. Miranda can’t imagine being let go when she’s still learning the acting ropes. And Susie worries that she was only cast in the first place because she’s the producer’s daughter. But one of the seven is going to be kicked off the show. The bigger surprise is what will happen next.

The first book in Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Make Me a Star series introduces six teenagers, each waiting for that first big break Open call! Now casting for brand-new prime time series. No experience necessary. Tenth grader Miranda Newgate is visiting Los Angeles on spring break when her cousin hears about a casting call for extras on a new TV series. Miranda goes to the audition, but ends up reading for a bigger part. Then it’s back to Massachusetts, to term papers and biology projects while waiting for the call that could change her life. Stage star Molly O’Malley is a serious actress. But she could sure use the exposure from a network show that will be seen from coast to coast. Alison Blake is Miss Young America, but that doesn’t give her a free pass. She has to work harder than anyone else to prove she isn’t just another pretty face. Former child star T. J. Tyler is ready for his comeback. He needs the leading role to show the world he wasn’t washed up at eleven. Rafe Marquez has no acting experience. But he’s hot and hunky and goes after what he wants—and he wants to make it big. Bill Douglas has been on so many TV shows, this one should be a breeze. But in this business, you never know. Who will make the final cut and rise to stardom on Hard Time High?

Six teenagers have been cast in prime time’s hottest new TV series—can they take their shot at the spotlight without sacrificing the things that matter most? A starring role on the prime-time show Hard Time High could give Molly O’Malley the fame and fortune she craves. But the real payoff, besides a steady income, is something the on-the-road actress has wanted for years: the chance to put down roots and live a normal life. And she’d get to celebrate her real birthday and stop pretending she’s almost fifteen when she’s barely fourteen, a fact she only recently discovered. But even fame has its price; Molly’s mother wants a job on the show. And Molly has to keep up with her schooling. The show is giving Rafe Marquez his first taste of stardom. Maybe one day he’ll be able to buy a mansion with a pool for his folks. But he’s never going to abandon his dream of being lead guitarist in a famous band. Things are changing faster than Molly, Rafe, TJ, Miranda, Alison, and Bill ever imagined. Will this mark the beginning of new friendships and maybe even love?

Robin doesn’t want to be perfect, but it would be nice to be more than perfectly average Robin can’t believe it: Out of the thousands of girls who applied for the Image magazine summer internships, she’s one of only four winners who will be spending the summer in New York City. Robin knows she’ll be working hard at the popular teen magazine, but she hopes there will be plenty of time for shopping, eating out, and living the fabulous life. Her excitement is only a little dulled when she hears her cousin Annie got one of the other spots. Robin and Annie used to be close, but now that their mothers compare them to each other all the time, both girls feel like they can’t win. So when they meet at their hotel, the cousins agree: All they want is to be themselves and have a perfect summer. Along with their roommates, Ashley and Torey, Robin and Annie dive into their new responsibilities—and into the parties, makeovers, and social lives they’ve always dreamed of. But while their friendships are getting stronger, life in the public eye is harder than it looks, and all four girls know that only one intern can be chosen for the cover of the special Image issue. Will Robin’s dream of the perfect summer survive reality?

Miranda, Molly, Alison, TJ, Bill, and Rafe are becoming stars on TV’s biggest show, but with fame come responsibilities . . . Can they really have it all? Miranda is celebrating her seventeenth birthday. She can’t believe it’s been a whole year since she was cast in Hard Time High. Now she just got her own car and may finally get out from under the thumb of her family. But does she really want to move in with her costar Molly and her mother—especially since she and Molly aren’t on great terms at the moment? Miranda’s personal life starts looking up when she agrees to go on a blind date with Adam, who has a crush on the character Miranda plays on the show. The Los Angeles University senior is tall, dark, and totally un-California. And with Alison offered the chance to move beyond her beauty-queen looks as cohost of a teen talk show, Rafe wrapping a movie, and TJ’s fan base growing, it looks like they’re all getting ready for the next big thing. Will the upcoming season bring them the fame and happiness they’ve been searching for?

Playing the role of a happy pageant winner is not exactly the acting career Kit had in mind Kit Carson keeps trying to tell people that she didn’t do anything. All she did was put on a bathing suit in front of the judges, and suddenly she’s a beauty contest winner. It’s true that the money will come in handy—new dresses and college educations don’t grow on trees when your mom is a nurse and your dad doesn’t always remember to help out—but all Kit really wants is to try out her dream of being an actress. Not a famous one, just successful enough to have a career in a modest theater and make a living doing what she loves. But now that Kit’s a beauty queen, people seem to expect a lot from her. Above all, they seem to think she should gratefully accept the limited roles she’s being offered, which are mostly those of beautiful, not-too-independent, all-American girls. Between pageant ambitions and romantic interests, Kit gets the sense that there could be plenty of opportunities in her future—as long as she’s willing to play the part.

When Paula falls for the bad boy down the street, what she thought would be a silly summer romance becomes anything but It’s Paula’s last summer at home, and in need of an affectionate distraction, she decides now is the perfect time to get involved with one of the two brothers from down the road, Jonny and Jordon. But which one? Likable, well-mannered Jonny? Or Jordon, who’s been kicked out of every school that would take him and who tells her up front that he wants her to have to choose—and wants her to choose him? Who can say no to a bad boy? Underneath it all, Paula knows Jordon is the kind and gentle person she’s falling in love with—something his parents can’t, or won’t, see. And better yet, Jordon says he loves her back and promises to always be honest with her. But sometimes the truth isn’t what we want to hear . . .

Sometimes Abby thinks the most important event in her life happened before she was even born Abby’s not dying; in fact she’s perfectly healthy. If she were dead, maybe her father would grieve for her the way he’s still grieving for Johnny, who would have been Abby’s older brother if he hadn’t died when he was only two. Probably not though. The only time her dad even notices her is when he’s pushing her into an Ivy League college. And now that Abby’s oldest sister, Jocelyn, has left for med school, and Jess, the middle sister, has run away to pursue a major in drug and alcohol addiction, her mom is rarely home. Living among strangers, Abby writes letters and makes up imaginary dialogues with a boy that she’s too shy to approach. And she draws up her will over and over, trying to decide who should inherit her teddy bears and who should get all the guilt and recrimination that have accumulated in her family. Left alone—as always—Abby figures her choices are to be physically dead, emotionally dead, or really alive. But living means shaking things up, taking chances, and saying all those things her family would rather keep covered up. It might not end well, but what does she have to lose?

The darker the truth, the deeper you hide it—but what happens when you can’t hide anymore? Innocence, I guess, is not my image. Sixteen-year-old Iris knows that between her bohemian playwright father who lives off the grid in the New Mexican desert and her mother, to whom getting married (but not staying married) is a full-time job, she’s led an unorthodox life, which hasn’t left with her with a lot of childhood illusions. So it’s no surprise when her mom sends her to spend the summer with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. Iris’s younger cousin Caryn is different. She’s only fourteen, and much more sheltered. Aunt Elaine hopes that Iris will be good company for Caryn, and when the girls meet an appealing young man at the pool and all three become friends, it seems her plan just might be working. But for Iris, making things work means keeping secrets from Caryn. If Iris can’t pretend to be someone she isn’t all summer long, will she still be all right?

The truth isn’t the most comfortable choice, but it’s the only one with any future Sloan Fredericks can still remember the weeks she spent in the hospital when she was nine, the only survivor of the accident that killed her parents and little brother. Now she lives with her grandmother in the kind of grand old house you’d expect from a family known for both their wealth and their political prowess. It’s also the kind of house that has a music room, which is where Sloan goes searching for a little peace and quiet during her gran’s annual party, until an older man with a important reputation corners her long enough to say some things that Sloan doesn’t want to hear. She quickly brushes past him, hoping that no one saw them. But someone did—one of Sloan’s own friends—who confesses that the man did the same thing to her, only much, much worse. Although meant to be private, the confession doesn’t stay that way, and soon the secret is all anyone can talk about. Can the truth save their family, or will it just dig up even uglier secrets?

You can buy a lot of things with enough money, but you can’t buy the truth After Val skips one Sunday dinner with her cousin Michelle’s family, everything changes. Val and Michelle’s fathers aren’t getting along, and she just wanted to avoid the tension that she knew would be on the menu. Val’s mom died of cancer two years ago, and now her father’s love and her mother’s memory are all she has. But Michelle can’t let it go, and in her anger she drops a bombshell: “You’re not really family. You don’t really count.” Is it true? How come no one—not her teachers, not her classmates, not their parents—seems surprised? Other kids at school are adopted; it’s not a secret. So why hasn’t anyone told Val? Slowly Val starts to see that things are different for her. Other kids don’t have bodyguards or a dad who gives them whatever they want with his piles of money. Up till now, Val has repaid her father’s love by being the obedient daughter he expects, but now she needs something else: She needs the truth.

When Melodie’s glamorous parents split up, all she needs is a friend—but can Elaine be there for her? Elaine Zuckerman’s parents are definitely not glamorous—her dad does something boring with computer chips, and her mom is a dentist whose office is in their house. They’re nothing like her friend Melodie’s family. Melodie’s mom, Constance King, is a beautiful Broadway star, and her dad, Trevor Ashford, has a thrilling British accent. Even Melodie’s name is glamorous! And Elaine would trade her oblivious older brothers for Melodie’s little sister in a heartbeat. But glamour won’t keep Constance and Trevor’s marriage together or make them stop fighting in front of their daughters. And Elaine isn’t sure how to help the friend who’s always had everything, especially when the Zuckermans get caught in the middle. What will it take for Melodie’s parents to behave like the grown-ups they’re supposed to be?

What if the one person you can’t stand is the only one you can depend on? Nobody ever asked Betsy Reisman if she wanted to be a twin, but since she and Meg are stuck with each other, they’ve reached a truce. Mostly they keep busy—Betsy with her beloved piano and her plans to go to Juilliard and Meg with learning her fifth (or is it sixth?) language. It’s about to get harder, though, since their parents, both writers, have decided to take the year off from New York City’s high rents and live in a country cottage on the estate of a much-wealthier family. The owner is a friend of Betsy’s mom, and the whole family is sort of local nobility, or at least that’s how everyone treats them. Eunice, the oldest daughter, is not at all happy about the Reismans’ arrival. This is just fine with Betsy, who only likes people who like music. But Meg goes for successful and popular—and Betsy knows that Meg will be heartbroken if Eunice snubs her—and the rest of the school follows suit. Worse, their parents haven’t stopped fighting since they got there. The sisters decide that to make the year as tolerable as possible, they’re going to have to stick together and at least try to get along. Kind of like friends—or maybe even like sisters.

Sometimes you just have to pack a suitcase and walk out the door Marly knows her older sister, Kit, is tall, beautiful, and outspoken—everything Marly isn’t. But does everyone have to remind her of it all the time? Since her parents’ divorce, her mom hasn’t had a single nice thing to say—and even if she did, she’s always working. So Marly packs her bags and catches the bus to stay with her dad. She knows he’ll want her, and hopefully his new wife will too. Ed and Sally are surprised to find Marly on their doorstep but excited to take her in and become a family. They cook together and laugh together, and no one ever shouts at anyone else, a big difference from Marly’s life with her mom. Marly has kept quiet up until now, which has given her a reputation for being well behaved. But once she starts getting used to being treated like an actual person, she begins talking about what’s important to her. She may not be able to stop—and she may not want to.

“The right thing never just happens; you have to make it happen.” Morgan knows her parents left her in boarding school so they could travel the world, which is why hardly anything changes when they’re killed in an accident during her freshman year at Fairfield. But every orphan needs a guardian, and Morgan’s is her uncle Tom, a famous and somewhat eccentric author. Tom’s New York City apartment has plenty of space for Morgan, and her room is the nicest one she’s ever seen, but her uncle, uncomfortable suddenly raising a fourteen-year-old girl, seems distant and preoccupied. Alone in an unfamiliar world, Morgan imagines what her school roommate, the popular and sarcastic Trinck, would think of everything. Would she approve of Morgan’s newly discovered love of reading or the friends she makes in New York? Slowly, Morgan makes a place for herself that is all her own and reflects on the person she is becoming—whether Trinck would like it or not.

Always the youngest but never the baby, Sibyl sometimes wonders, What good is inner strength if only you know it’s there? Sybil loves Aunt Grace’s dark, old house, even if the upkeep is a burden the Sebastians can’t entirely afford. It feels like home, and after years of surgeries and therapy, all Sybil wants for her sixteenth birthday is to be surrounded by her crazy family in a place of their own. But Evvie’s been keeping a secret, one that puts her at risk, and when the truth finally comes out, it throws the whole family into turmoil as they struggle to face the facts. Sybil may not have Evvie’s charm, Thea’s patience, or Claire’s beauty, but she does have herself: quiet, perceptive, and absolutely determined. When her father, Nicky, declares that he’s found a solution to their troubles, Sybil faces a difficult choice—and her heart tells her there are some betrayals that can never be forgiven.

Thea would do anything to make the people she loves happy . . . but how much can she give away and still be herself? The Sebastians have a tradition of falling in love at sixteen, and Thea is ready for it to happen to her, but so far she hasn’t met anyone except the moving-van driver who deposited her and her family in their new home. As the sisters and their untraditional parents, Nicky and Megs, unpack yet again, Thea dreams of whispers, longing glances, and romance. But what she gets is a volunteer job at the local hospital. Thea figures she’ll be fluffing pillows, playing with children, and reading books aloud, and it will help Nicky’s chances of striking a business deal with community leaders. So she doesn’t mind when she’s matched up with Gina, a young leukemia patient. She minds even less when she meets Gina’s big brother, Kip. Kip is devoted to his sister, and he and Thea are quickly drawn together by their fight for Gina’s health and happiness. But their alliance is soon tested by illness, family, and a tragedy in Thea’s life—one that will make demands of her heart that she never expected.

There’s nothing wrong with lying—until the truth comes out For her sixteenth birthday, Evvie Sebastian got her own room—a room she doesn’t have to share with her three sisters. There’s only one problem: It’s a dump, just like the rest of the family’s new house. Evvie has hardly moved in when her dad, Nicky, asks her to spend the summer at the seaside with her great-aunt Grace, who’s had a bad fall and needs cheering up—and who is snobbish, ill tempered, and very, very rich. Evvie reluctantly agrees. When she arrives at Eastgate, she finds Aunt Grace just as fierce as she remembered, but she has to admit that the place has some redeeming qualities. Like the handsome and charming Schyler Hughes . . . and Sam Steinmetz, who works in the town bookstore and makes smart jokes about the local culture of conformity. But it’s not all romantic sailing trips and walks on the beach. Evvie soon finds that some people like to tell old stories and share old secrets a little too much—and some of those secrets may hit closer to home than Evvie expected.

When Claire fears her family might be falling apart, she knows she’ll have to fight her own battles—and she plans to win Always the beauty of the family and often the most ambitious, Claire Sebastian doesn’t feel sixteen, and she doesn’t dream of romance—she dreams of diamonds. Diamonds and emeralds and anything else that will pay for the best doctors to treat her sister Sybil, now an invalid after a terrible accident. Claire knows that her cheekbones and charm are her best assets, but she’ll also need a shrewd strategy if she’s going to save her family from their financial troubles. And she’s on her own: Her parents, Nicky and Megs, are completely wrapped up in Sybil’s recovery, and Claire’s sisters just aren’t as ruthless as she is. A visit with Aunt Grace and a chance look at an old photograph give Claire the ammunition she needs to pull off her plan. But as it starts to unfold, she realizes that people are going to get hurt . . . and one of them may be her.