Friendship Over

As she did in Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie and its sequels, Sternberg exposes the travails of adolescence with authenticity and humor in this first volume of the Top- Secret Diary of Celie Valentine series. For Celie’s 10th birthday, her father gives her a punching bag, a journal, and a note: “May you find each beneficial whenever you’re struggling to work through your feelings.” His gift is right on target, as Celie is working through quite a bit. Her best friend blows her off for another classmate and doesn’t invite her to a party; her older sister takes up with a mean-spirited friend and locks Celie out of their shared bedroom; and her grandmother is demonstrating some alarming behavior, including stashing her trash in the freezer and mistaking Celie on the phone for her deceased sister. Celie pours out her feelings on all of this and more in free-association diary entries full of candor and wry exaggeration. Letters, emails, and Wright’s (The Best Bike Ride Ever) punchy b&w sketches pep up this lighthearted yet emotionally layered story. Ages 8–11. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Oct.)