"A solid and sound coaching manual for preteen girls starting or approaching puberty." —School Library Journal
Let's face it, being a girl isn't easy, and growing up can be confusing without a confidante to help. Meet Sarah O'Leary Burningham, a real-life big sister here to talk you through some of life's biggest moments, like:

Finding a bra

Getting your period

Picking out glasses and braces

Dealing with

...

A frank, funny, age-appropriate guide for pre-teens about getting your period. Getting your period for the first time can be mortifying, weird and messy--and asking questions about it can be even worse. Packed with honest advice on managing Aunt Flo like a boss, this book will induct pre-teens into the secret society of menstruation: from demystifying what cramps feel like, to whether you can feel it coming out, to what you should do if your pad leaks...

"Velveteen Vargas is eleven years old, a Fresh Air Fund kid from Brooklyn. Her host family is a couple in upstate New York: Ginger, a failed artist and shakily recovered alcoholic, and her academic husband, Paul. Gaitskill illuminates their shifting relationships over several years, as well as Velvet's encounter with the horses at the stable down the road. Mare is the story of a girl and a horse, joined with a story of people from different races...

Ten-year-old Helen and her summer guardian, Flora, are isolated together in Helen's decaying family house while her father is doing secret war work in Oak Ridge during the final months of World War II. Their relationship and its fallout, played against a backdrop of a lost America, will haunt Helen for the rest of her life.

When Teagan's father abruptly abandons his family and his farm, Teagan finds herself wading through the wreckage of what was once an idyllic life, searching for something--or someone--to hold on to. What she finds is Ian, short for Obsidian: the magnificent but dangerously headstrong horse her father left behind. But even as she grows close to Ian, patiently training him, trying to overcome her fear of him, Teagan is learning that life and love are...

Maria lives in a remote village in Burgundy, where she learns that she has a gift for communicating with nature. Hundreds of miles away in Italy, Clara discovers that she possesses a stunning musical genius and is sent from the countryside to Rome to develop her preternatural abilities. Barbery's The Life of the Elves tells the story of two children whose extraordinary talents will bring them into contact with magical worlds and malevolent forces....

Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for normalcy, for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in.Yet as her dream grows more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni...

Frankie Addams, a motherless twelve-year-old raised by her father and the family's African-American cook, struggles with conflicting feelings about her brother's upcoming wedding.

In a twist of fate, young Christian Morris's plans take a drastic detour in the form of a beautiful and frightened girl. Scarlett, a blind British teenager, suddenly appears in his life after escaping from her murderous kidnappers. Determined to protect Scarlett, whatever the price, Christian embarks on a dangerous course as he fights to keep her alive.

Helping her popular next-door neighbor Gayil set up what she thinks are harmless pranks, 12-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl Shaindy must figure out how to stop them before she becomes the next target when the pranks escalate and turn malicious.