Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love Book

Emma-Jean is experiencing something new and unsettling, but not entirely unpleasant. It's a fluttering in her heart when she imagines herself asking Will to the seventh-grade dance. Her best friend Colleen is worried that Will might laugh if Emma-Jean invites him. After all, Emma-Jean is a different kind of girl—certainly different from queen-bee Laura, who has always made it clear that Will is hers. Maybe Colleen can distract Emma- Jean from this risky plan by recruiting her for a top-secret investigation. You see, Colleen has an anonymous admirer, and if Emma-Jean can help her figure out who he is, then Colleen could ask him to the dance. Even more endearing and genuine than its predecessor, this companion to the award-winning Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree steals your heart and inspires a smile that lasts as long as the novel itself. . . and longer.

Publishers Weekly

Tarshis proves she "gets" adolescent female friendships (not to mention seventh grade) in this funny and empathetic follow-up to Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree. For the first time, the intensely analytical Emma-Jean has friends among her peers (as she refers to them) and, like them, she is preoccupied with the girl-invite Spring Fling. Emma-Jean considers asking basketball star Will, though they have little in common-he's been kind to her and causes a "fluttering of her heart." But she ends up sorting out the dance-related woes of fragile Colleen (whose point of view is explored in certain chapters). Fans of the first book will be pleased that the deadpan narration ("as a single cell can reveal the DNA code of an entire organism, the look in Kaitlin's eyes told Emma-Jean everything she needed to know") and Emma-Jean's observations are as amusing as ever. ("Adolescent males engage in conspicuous displays to attract the attention of females," is her explanation of cafeteria boisterousness.) Her blossoming appreciation for emotions that logic can't explain, sympathetic supporting characters and an uplifting finale will warm hearts. Ages 10-14. (May)

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