The Dirt Diary

Confidently addressing a number of common tween troubles that include bullying, parental divorce, and peer pressure, Staniszewski (the My Very UnFairy Tale Life series) introduces a determined eighth-grader desperate to get her separated parents back together in this humorous problem novel. It isn’t the love of bleach and toilet brushes that drives Rachel Lee to help her mother with her weekend cleaning business. Rachel needs money fast to replace the $300 she borrowed from her college-fund account in order to visit her father in Florida and “talk some sense” into him, hoping to persuade him to come home. One unexpected bonus of her new job is gaining access to the homes of some of her classmates. While cleaning up their messes, Rachel discovers a few dirty little secrets—ammunition that could bring her extra cash, win her the notice of the boy of her dreams, and take down her A-lister nemesis. Predictably, Rachel’s schemes cause more pain than gain, but readers will likely forgive her errors in judgment as she sincerely attempts to make amends. Ages 10–14. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Jan.)