The last thing Hannah Strafel wants after her longtime next-door neighbor and best friend Sophie moves away is a new neighbor or best friend. But, unexpectedly, she gets both when Emme Hoffman-Shields arrives, and the two fifth-graders learn they both love palindromes and swimming and even share the same birthday. However, as they discover differing interests and face separate challenges, from school to home, each fears growing apart. Happily, through ups and downs, they come to new understandings, including the importance of honesty, communication, and trust d that although commonalities may bring people together, differences can strengthen and enrich relationships, too. Mackler, author of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (2003), here insightfully portrays the complexities of friendship and adapting to change. The girls' alternating first-person narratives occasionally blur, but lend depth to their individual and shared experiences, from confronting bullies, to insecurities, to adapting to a new sibling. Hannah's dad and stepmom and Emme's two moms (whose gay relationship is a nonissue) provide loving, reassuring presences throughout. Despite some predictability, an engaging, supportive read.

Gr 3-5 When Hannah's best friend and next-door neighbor Sophie moves to Canada before the start of fifth grade, Hannah can't imagine life without her. Soon a new family moves in with a girl the same age as Hannah taking over Sophie's old room. After a rocky start, Hannah and Emme become fast friends, bonding over their shared love of palindromes and peanut butter and their dislike of pizza. Not everything is rosy as Hannah struggles to accept the new addition to her family and Emme deals with bullying at school. Mackler captures the ups and downs of close friendship as Hannah and Emme's relationship is challenged as they begin to discover their differences. The girls learn what it means to be a friend, in good times and bad. Mackler depicts modern families in an unobtrusive wayHannah's dad and stepmom are expecting a new baby and Emme has two moms. VERDICT Sure to find readers amongst young readers, this charming book will be a hit with fans of Meg Cabot's "Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls" series (Scholastic). Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga Public Library System, OH