Taffy Sinclair, Baby/

After a classroom skirmish, Jana and her nemesis Taffy are on their way to the office when they hear the cry of a baby who has been abandoned on the front steps of their school. Jana and Taffy are instant celebrities both at school and in local papers, and a TV station wants to interview them. But sharing fame with Taffy Sinclair will never be easy on Jana, especially when Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair propose they adopt baby Ashley. Jana finds a way to locate the real mother, but she may never figure out a way to likeother than for fleeting momentsthat Taffy. This addition to the popular Taffy Sinclair series is more staged than substance; while there is a minor subplot about Jana's adjustment to her mother's announcement of marriage, it is all observed by herthere are no scenes illuminating her feelings. But the tension between Jana and Taffy is a palpable part of sixth grade, and Haynes keeps the one-two punches rolling between the girls to the very last page. Ages 8-12. (February)