Sixth-grader Annabelle is starting the year at a new school because her mother has moved in with her boyfriend, Ted Weeble, a man Annabelle unkindly thinks of as "Dweeble." Having previously attended an all-girls school, she has no idea how to deal with the boys' teasing here. As a bribe for cooperation with the move (Annabelle is certain) Mom and Dweeble have bought her an unruly puppy that she now has to train with the help of Good Dog! Raise Your Puppy Right . The book includes lots of down-to-earth advice that Annabelle eventually realizes might also be useful in controlling the unpleasant response she's getting from the boys. With a firm voice and simple commands, Annabelle gradually gets her school life in order, finds new female friends and discovers she's not the only victim of the boys' teasing. Mildly amusing, the best part of this book is that it may empower a few middle-school victims to take charge of their lives, perhaps with as much success as Annabelle. (Fiction. 9-13)

For Annabelle, moving in with her mother's boyfriend means adjusting to a new town, school, and dog. The exasperating middle-school boys make Annabelle miserable, until she re-purposes tips from her dog-training manual to tame them. Although Annabelle is not a particularly distinctive character, the assertiveness she gains and the girl-power camaraderie she finds send a useful message. Undemanding light fiction.

Gr 4-7 Being the new kid in school is often hard enough, but Annabelle finds that dealing with the idiosyncrasies of sixth-grade boys is truly daunting. She misses her friends and doesn't know how she feels about her mother's live-in boyfriend, Ted. Then her mother and Ted surprise her with a puppy and a dog-training manual that proves to be a partial answer to some of her school dilemmas. Annabelle discovers that strategies in the manual can be transferred and tweaked to solve some of the boy issues at school. Using a mixture of confidence, ingenuity, and some excellent Swiss chocolates, she begins to change some difficult situations and behaviors for the better. This clever and humorous premise is deftly handled to create a believable and enjoyable tale with a likable and resourceful heroine whose trials, tribulations, and triumphs will have others wanting a training manual of their own. Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MA

The premise of Margolis's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Fix) effervescent story—a girl uses the techniques from a dog-training manual on boys—has been seen before (e.g., Sandra Dee in <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">If a Man Answers), but rarely has it been so well grounded and developed. Right before the start of sixth grade, Annabelle returns from sleepaway camp to move into the house that her single mother and her mother's sensitive if geeky boyfriend have just set up. Their surprise gift of a puppy, Annabelle realizes, is their attempt to “bribe” her into liking the new arrangements, but she loves the puppy anyway. School, on the other hand, is a battleground, especially because it's Annabelle's first time going coed. Margolis gets the details of middle-school boy behavior just right: the boy sitting behind Annabelle torments her with endless kicking; her two lab partners hog the equipment; others play keep-away with her homework. When Annabelle does connect the dots between puppy training and communicating with boys, her breakthroughs come across as genuine. The story lines—melded household, moving, boys as dogs—coalesce naturally, giving girl readers a thoughtful story along with, just possibly, some substantive boy advice. Ages 8–12. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)