Vail (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">You, Maybe) again demonstrates a penetrating insight into the concerns of young teen girls, this time upending the conventions of the rich-girl novel. In the first of a trilogy about three sisters, 14-year-old Phoebe, the appealing narrator, and her two older siblings have been coached to view themselves and their über-successful investor mother as Valkyries (“Nobody—nothing—can intimidate us. We will never back down; we will never surrender,” their mother tells them over breakfast). Less a Valkyrie than a people-pleaser, Phoebe has joined her best friends to plan a lavish eighth-grade graduation party, for which Phoebe has picked out a Vera Wang gown. But when her mother gets fired abruptly for what could be shady dealings, Phoebe is forced to think about money for the first time, and to wonder how much effect it has on her friendships and popularity. Vail gets the relationships exactly right, from the shifting twosomes among the sisters to the changing attitudes among the eighth-grade friends and their parents, and most especially, the shifts in behavior within her protagonist. Readers will absorb this in one fell swoop. Ages 12–up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

Fourteen-year-old Phoebe had never really considered the role that wealth and popularity played in her "lucky" life until both are threatened after her mom suddenly loses her job. Now her parents can't afford to pay for Phoebe's expensive eighth-grade graduation party or the green Vera Wang dress she was dreaming of wearing to it. At first, she tries to convince her sisters and four best friends that everything is still "all good." But after some tearful soul-searching, Phoebe faces up to the truth, and she discovers that she's still rich in friendship and also lucky in love. This entertaining, albeit predictable, first volume in a planned trilogy will appeal to Meg Cabot and Maureen Johnson groupies, as well as fans of Michael Simmons' Pool Boy (2003). Vail's insightful characterizations of teen girls and their shifting loyalties is right on target, and her insertion of several uncomfortably realistic moments, such as when Phoebe's mom's credit card is publicly confiscated, will leave readers squirming in embarrassed sympathy.

Phoebe, "pretty, popular [and] rich," knows that she is lucky. Now 14 and about to graduate eighth grade, she's the youngest of the Avery women, Valkyries all: her beautiful, high-powered mother and her two older sisters. Then, just when Phoebe and her closest girlfriends are planning an exorbitantly expensive graduation party, Phoebe's luck runs out. She discovers that her mother, the main breadwinner in her family, has been fired, blamed for a big investment gone bad. Afraid to tell her acquisitive friends that she can no longer afford her share of the party, Phoebe tries to manipulate her way out, pretending that the party has become too overblown and blaming her best friend for the lapse. The story, which has a touching ending and something to say about the connections between friendship, trust and money, wants to have it both ways, however—for Phoebe to learn the lesson that being lucky in life isn't about stuff, it's about having family and friends who will stand by you—without forcing her to sacrifice anything real. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Gr 9 Up-This is de Oliveira's first novel, and he's a writer to watch. Sam Smith is a young, sexually confused teen living in Surrey, England. He enjoys hanging out with his friends, Brenda and Pod, and is passionate about playing on the local football team. Then he meets self-confident Toby, another gifted player, who happens to be gay. Toby introduces Sam to the contemporary gay scene in London, which includes Soho nightlife. Sam is intrigued and wonders if he might be gay, as well, especially after he notices mysterious and attractive "Him," a young stranger who occasionally shows up at football games. Eventually Sam comes to the realization that "These are the facts. I'm attracted to boys and girls. I'm just Sam. I was born like this." De Oliveira has a mature, concise writing style and an excellent command of narrative pacing and dialogue. Sam and his friends are believable characters, flawed but likable, and the author's examination of contemporary British youth will probably intrigue American readers. Raw language and British slang (snogging, shagging, poof, cheeky git, etc.) are used liberally throughout, which requires some adjustment at first. Overall, this is a well-written and insightful novel that should appeal to relatively sophisticated young adult readers. Robert Gray, East Central Regional Library, Cambridge, MN

Everything has always come easy for Phoebe Avery. She is lucky, and she knows it. She lives in a mansion, has parents who spoil her, is class president, and has four best friends. About to graduate eighth grade, Phoebe and her pals plan an extravagant party to celebrate the end of middle school. When Phoebe finds out that her mother, the family's breadwinner, has been fired, her lucky streak ends. Determined to keep her situation under wraps, Phoebe looks for an excuse to pull out of the party that her family now cannot afford. She picks a fight with Kirstyn, her closest friend, accusing her of commandeering the planning of what Phoebe now feels is a tacky, excessive affair. In her haste to get out of the party while still keeping her secret, Phoebe worries she might have lost her friends in favor of saving face. Initially it is difficult to muster up much sympathy for Phoebe, whose life of privilege has created both a sense of entitlement and a lack of knowledge about real-world money issues. But Phoebe is more than just a one-dimensional character. Phoebe does not understand her family's money troubles, but she knows she does not want charity or pity. Her confusion over how to deal with this news and how it could affect her relationships feels genuine and realistic. The loss she experiences has less to do with shallow things like money and status and more to do with the deep complexities of security and friendship.-Amanda MacGregor.