The latest entry in the Amelia's Notebook series records Amelia's joy in what she calls her "8th grade muscles," the confidence that she feels at the top of the middle-school heap. When she falls for classmate Gerald, though, insecurity deflates her. With help from her best friend, Amelia navigates the perils of a first, unrequited crush with minimal damage to her ego. The very readable diary-style text records the drama and humor of Amelia's first days in eighth grade. Meanwhile, expressive ink-and-watercolor illustrations brighten every one of the lined notebook-style pages.

The affable protagonist starts eighth grade and develops a crush on a cute boy, Gerald. Through self-reflection in her journal and seeking her girlfriends' advice, Amelia works up the nerve to ask Gerald to a dance--but he declines. Moss articulates and makes manageable the tween experience in her spot-on narration; Amelia's signature doodles and marginalia illustrate the handwritten notebook.