Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

During fall semester of her junior year of high school, Alice decides to change her good girl image, while major remodeling begins at home and some important relationships begin to change.

The Malloy girls and the Hatford boys try to outdo each other in a quest to earn money and choose how to participate in the annual Buckman, West Virginia, Strawberry Festival.

When mean and angry Judd, who has never known kindness, takes to drinking and mistreats his dogs, Marty discovers how deep a hurt can go and how long it takes to heal.

Sarah, who is very good at solving problems, tries to help her friend Peter find a pet that he and his grandmother both like.

Maryland teenager Alice McKinley spends her last semester of high school performing in the school play, working on the student paper, worrying about being away from her boyfriend, who will be studying in Spain, and anticipating her future in college.

The Malloy girls and the Hatford boys continue to get in trouble as they try to outdo each other in bottle racing, spelling, and baseball.

Find a Penny pick it up and all day long you'll have good luck...except, of course, if that Penny is charming and pretty and funny, and the person picking her up just happens to be your boyfriend. Alice McKinley's freshman year is not as "lucky" as she was hoping it would be. But she's is trying to look on the bright side. There are worse things than being single for a semester... for a school year...for the whole summer.... At least Alice can count...

Eighth-grader Alice has lots of questions about sex, relationships, prejudice, and change.

Eleven-year-old, motherless Alice decides she needs a gorgeous role model who does everything right; and when placed in homely Mrs. Plotkins's class she is greatly disappointed until she discovers it is what people are inside that counts.

Thirteen-year-old Alice sets long- and short-term priorities for her life as she experiences the complexities of young love.