Here's to You, Rachel Robinson »

A pioneer of books for young adults and the author of classics such as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, the Fudge series, and many others, Judy Blume has always had the uncanny ability to capture the embarrassments and worries of growing up, striking comforting chords with readers of all ages.

Trouble in Rachel's family is spelled with a capital C—for Charles.

From the outside, Rachel looks like the perfect daughter in the perfect family. She’s a straight-A student, a gifted musician, and a good friend. But her older brother, Charles, seems determined to ruin everything. Rachel feels as if it’s all falling apart. Her best friends, Stephanie and Alison, find Charles funny. They urge Rachel to lighten up and enjoy the end of seventh grade. Easy for them to say. Not so easy for Rachel. Not even when Jeremy Dragon, the coolest boy in ninth grade, notices her. Is it possible that perfection isn’t the key to an exciting life?

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Publishers Weekly

Continuing the story begun in Just As Long As We're Together , Blume here focuses on Rachel, one of three best friends. This gifted, highly motivated student who, according to her mother, was ``born thirty-five,'' feels somewhat out of sync with Stephanie and Alison as seventh grade draws to a close. Then, when Rachel's acerbic older brother is expelled from boarding school, life at home becomes equally unsettling--and decidedly unpleasant. Rachel's incisive, first-person narration easily draws readers into her complicated world as she learns to cope with the pressures brought on by her relentless quest to be the best at everything and by her troubled family situation. Perceptive, strong storytelling ensures that other characters' points of view (particularly Rachel's brother's) can also be discerned. Blume once again demonstrates her ability to shape multidimensional characters and to explore--often through very convincing dialogue--the tangled interactions of believable, complex people. Ages 11-up. (Oct.)