Per their official Life Cycle of Amphibian Boys, while tadpoles are totally not developed yet (read: boys who still love fart jokes and can't have a normal conversation with girls without making fun of them), a frog is the top of the boy food chain--evolved and mature. Sadly, not many boys have reached that elusive frog status at Staunton Middle School.Finley thought she had everyone pegged, until Zachary Mattison enters the picture. After suddenly leaving the year before, Zachary's surprise reappearance at SMS forces Finley to see him in a new light. And when the official life cycle list falls into the wrong hands, it causes a battle between the boys and girls that turns into an all-out war--one that Finley isn't sure anyone can really win...

    Popularity comes with special privileges, like a seat at the best table in the cafeteria and a coveted spot on the planning committee for the school’s big talent show competition, Groove It Up! And since all Polly has to do is agree with whatever Kelsy says, being popular is easy—even if kids do call her “Plastic Polly” behind her back. But when a freak accident takes Kelsy out of the picture, Polly is suddenly in charge of the Groove It Up! committee. She’s not prepared for her new status—and neither is anyone else. Backstabbing friends, an intimidating crush, and diva demands from an injured Kelsy all threaten to derail Polly’s plans. Can she prove to everyone—and herself—that she has a personality of her own?

    So when it’s time for the annual Student Council chocolate rose sale, Mia is prepared to feel even worse. Because even though anyone can buy and send roses to their crushes and friends, the same (popular) people always end up with roses while everyone else gets left out.Except a twist of fate puts Mia in charge of selling the roses this year—and that means things are going to change. With a little creativity, Mia makes sure the kids who usually leave empty-handed suddenly find themselves the object of someone’s affection. But her scheme starts to unravel when she realizes that being a secret matchmaker isn’t easy—and neither is being in the spotlight.

    That is, until she realizes she’ll have to kiss Prince Charming. And not only is Prince Charming—a.k.a James Lowe—the most popular boy in school, but Grace has never, ever been kissed.To help, Grace's two best friends create Operation Pucker Up—a plan for Grace to score a kiss before opening night so she doesn’t make total fool of herself in front of a live audience. If that weren’t enough to think about, Grace's father, who left six months ago, suddenly walks back into her life. Grace, her mom and sister have bonded as the “Terrific Three” – and while two of the “Three” welcome Dad back with open arms, Grace isn’t sure she can forgive and forget. With Operation Pucker Up spinning out of control, and opening night fast approaching, will Grace manage to get her happily ever after—both on-stage and off?

    With her individual sense of style and nonconformist attitude, Angelina "Mint" Taraval is everything Lane isn't. And instead of branding her a loser the way Lane and her friends expect, people actually want to hang out with her. Including the boys Lane and her best friend, Ava, like. When Ava comes up with a plan to ruin Mint, Lane feels stuck. She doesn't want to be mean . . . but she doesn't really want to stick up for her weird cousin either. Why can't things go back to the way they were before Mint arrived? And don't miss Kristen's other cool books:CAMILLE MCPHEE FELL UNDER THE BUSTHE REINVENTION OF BESSICA LEFTERBESSICA LEFTER BITES BACK“Believable and drily funny . . . an empathetic and entertaining read.”—Publishers Weekly  “High drama so compelling middle school readers won't realize they're being exposed to a lesson in ethics.”--Kirkus Reviews “Snappy, intelligent prose . . . an excellent title.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books“Kristen Tracy reminds us of our best and worst moments in middle school, handling both the triumphs and the mortifying moments with just the right mix of surprise and worry.” —readergirlz.com

    She's the go-to girl for advice. She's cool, she's funny, and she's enlightened (thanks to yoga classes at her mom's studio). So when her pretty BFF, Aggie, is too shy to speak to the boy she's crushing on, Cici goes online and does the talking for her. The only problem is, Cici starts to fall for the guy herself! For the first time in her life. she doesn't have a clue.

    After all, living at a hotel is heaven, and perks like free concert tickets and all-access passes to boutiques, restaurants, and attractions aren’t too shabby either.When the spoiled brat child of an important guest is only placated by some quick thinking on Chloe’s part, Chloe is awarded the role of Junior Concierge. But she might be in over her head when tasked with tending to the every whim of three royal guests: a twelve-year-old princess who can’t stand Chloe, a cute fourteen year-old prince(!), and their ten-year-old sister, who has a nasty knack for getting herself lost. After the youngest princess slips Chloe’s care, Chloe and the remaining royals must embark on an event-filled hunt for her through NYC’s best tourist spots.

    While my best friend was sunbathing on the beach in Hawaii, I was stuck with outdoor showers, a rickety cabin, and only one friend—quiet, boring Melissa. Then the "Evil Twins" showed up. It turned out they're totally cool and they wanted to be my friend! They're not really evil—well, not to me, at least. They AREN'T too nice to Melissa. We started playing a few pranks and it's kind of gotten out of control... I know I should put a stop to things, but I don't want to lose my only friends here. I just hope that I don't do anything I regret.Love,Kelly

    Or, more accurately, a girls problem. Four hundred and seventy-five of them. That's how many girls attend his school, St. Edith's Academy. Jeremy is the only boy left after the school's brief experiment in coeducation. And he needs to get out. His mom won't let him transfer, so Jeremy takes matters into his own hands: He's going to get expelled.Together with his best friend, Claudia, Jeremy unleashes a series of hilarious pranks in hopes that he'll get kicked out with minimum damage to his permanent record. But when his stunts start to backfire, Jeremy has to decide whom he's willing to knock down on his way out the door.

    Even without a BFF, Poppy is horrified when her father decides to move her and her older brother out to the family farm. Away from her beloved city and away from memories of her late mom—a fresh start for everyone.And after a weird first week at her new school, Poppy is convinced she is destined for a boring year—until she finds a stack of letters from 1985 hidden in the barn of the old farmhouse that they move into. Even better? Those letters are addressed to Poppy...from her mom. Poppy doesn't know what supernatural event brought these letters to her, but she doesn't care. All she knows is that she finally has the connection she yearns for. Plus, her mom seems to understand everything that Poppy is going through: not quite fitting in, the desire to put down roots, and the heartbreak of losing a loved one. Has Poppy discovered the friend—and acceptance—she’s always wanted?

    But when new girl Lillian arrives from San Francisco, suddenly three's a crowd. Especially after the trio is grouped together for a big sixth-grade social studies project - can they put aside their animosity long enough to succeed? When Liza suggests they all take a cooking class with the chef from her favorite cooking show for the project, the girls are on board, but they need an adult to take the class with them. It seems like the perfect opportunity to snag some quality time with their over-scheduled, overstressed mothers... if they can convince them to sign up!Several headaches and close calls later, the girls at last find themselves in Chef Antonio's kitchen with their mothers in tow - but the drama is only just beginning!

    Howard, author of Pugs and Kisses and Pugs in a Blanket, delivers more puppy love and friendship mix-ups.Emma's pug, Cupid, has a hidden talent: He is a master at matchmaking! Her pet seems to have a nose for spotting which two people belong together.With the big school dance coming up, Emma decides to use Cupid's powers to find her best friend, Hallie, a date. But as Emma tries to navigate crushes and secrets, she finds that things are a lot more complicated than they seem. And what if Cupid also has a surprising match in mind . . . for Emma herself?

    When the Evins siblings play a prank that goes just a tad too far (resulting in setting a neighbor's sofa--and hair--on fire), their dad decides it's time for some tough love. He signs them up for an after-school program called Champs!, which guarantees that it will turn any kid into a well-rounded success. Alex, Parker and Nick all must pass the course together, or else it's off to St. Ignacius private school (aka St. Ignasty). At Champs!, Alex encounters more than a few nemeses, including the Champs! coach, Sharon Success, mom of Alex's classmate, the totally perfect and totally annoying Emily Gold, and the ultra-competitive Chloe Stroupe. After weeks of intense classes, the Evins sibilings are soon faced with the Champs! Championship, a test of teamwork, leadership, and responsibility. Alex and her brothers are determined to win. But when an earlier misstep threatens all their hard work, Alex finds herself scrambling to make things right. Can the "evil Evins" actually pass this course in one piece? Or are they destined for an epic fail?

    Her former BFF, Sophie Burns, dumped her to hang out with the popular crowd at school. But the good news Avery's getting a new sister who's bound to be her new BFF too! Blake is her age and she's from New York. How cool is that? But things don't go quite as smoothly as Avery hoped. And what's with Blake becoming BFFs with Sophie? Huh?? That wasn’t supposed to happen! When Avery gets put in charge of the eighth grade charity project, an on-line matchmaking service, she thinks she can use this project to get Blake back on her side. She decides to fix the matches so that Blake gets matched with Sam, the most popular boy in school, but when the matches come out something has gone seriously wrong! Not only is Avery matched with Sam, but the class advisor knows that someone tampered with the program. On top of that, Avery discovers that she actually kind of, sort of, likes Sam . . . and he likes her back. Torn between the guy she likes and her sister/best friend, Avery is left wondering: is there any possible way she can keep them both?

    Her name is a palindrome. Her birthday is on New Year's. She wishes she had a cat. She's medium height and a little awkward. Her life has NOT been fun lately -- her dad and stepmom are having a baby and, worst of all, her best friend next door just moved away. Now a new girl is here, taking over her best friend's bedroom . . . and her own identity.Meet Emme. Her name is a palindrome. Her birthday is on New Year's. She loves her enormous orange cat. She's so short that last week she was mistaken for a kindergartner. She's found moving hard . . . but at least there's the girl next door, Hannah. Maybe they'll become friends?While Hannah and Emme are alike in so many ways, they're also different in some wrong ways, too. Is this the perfect friendship . . . or a recipe for disaster?From award-winning writer Carolyn Mackler comes a funny, smart story about finding out who your best friends are, in good times and bad.