Upside Down Book

Sometimes the only thing you can count on is change.

In Upside Down, nothing's been the same since Sara's father died a year ago. Her brother Jon who used to be fun is turning into a bossy, boring grown-up who tries to act like he's her dad. She's got the worst teacher in sixth grade. Millie her best friend is not in her class. Awful Adam Quigley is! That means he'll chase and torment her for another year.

Could it get any worse? Yes! Worst of all, her mom is dating Adam's father, Dr. Quigley, their new dentist. Barbecues and baseball games with Adam and his family, especially his sister Laurel, are hardly Sara's idea of fun. She's got to stop her mother's romance.

Will Sara go through with her plans? Or will she find the courage to accept the changes in her life?

Author Bio: Mary Jane Miller says: The love of story is part of my heritage. One of my earliest memories is drinking tea with my Irish grandmother. When my brother and I would finish our tea, Grandmother read the tea leaves. My own stories like a quilt are woven piece-by-piece from an experience, a particular place, a feeling, a question, or a memory.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-- It looks as if Sara's mom (widowed) is being courted by dorky Adam Quigley's dad (divorced)--and if that's so, it means the two junior high kids will have to spend ``family'' time together. Sara doesn't think she'll survive; it has only been a year since her father's death and she misses him desperately. Her older brother is no help; he thinks it is time their mother should begin to live her own life. The only one on Sara's side is Adam's older sister, Laurel, who's certain her own parents will reconcile if Sara's mom will back off. Laurel talks Sara into sabotaging the romance, but at the last minute the younger girl can't go through with it. With that decision, and the new knowledge that Laurel is sadly deluding herself, Sara sees the light. This slight story has no real depth; having presented a complicated situation, Miller turns it into a facile, quick read. The people are sketched rather than fully drawn, and although the sabotage is supposed to end the romance, it doesn't seem that serious or insurmountable. Still, this is populated with pleasant, if shallow, characters in an interesting dilemma, and readers will enjoy it if not be affected by it. --Marjorie Lewis, Scarsdale Junior High Sch . , NY