The second entry in McCafferty's Jessica Darling prequel series finds the smart, snarky seventh-grader navigating the shark-infested waters of middle-school friendships. Sorting out who among the girls in her classes are her actual friends is no easy task, but luckily she is armed with another of big sister Bethany's "IT List" sheets, the guaranteed guide to (you guessed it) friends, foes, and faux friends. With the help of her grandmother Gladdie, Jessica hosts a slumber party designed to cement her place in her new clique. Razor-sharp writing, witty dialogue, and the genuineness of Jessica's struggles make a this a sure bet for tween readers.

Jessica is realizing that everything in junior high--from sleepovers to Halloween costumes--comes with drama, and she's looking to her sister's advice (the "It List") for help. She's drifting away from Bridget, Dori is accusing Jessica of flirting with her boyfriend, and Manda and Sara's obsession with popularity is overbearing. Funny and authentic with just the right mix of angst and hope.

Gr 6-10 Jessica Darling is starting seventh grade, trying her best to navigate changing friendships and the mysteries of boyswith cringe-worthy embarrassments at every turn. A good series for tweens who have made their way through "Dork Diaries" (Aladdin) but are not quite ready for "Gossip Girls" (Little, Brown).

Only seventh grade girls would have so much excitement in their lives to be able to fill a book with the dramatic events of only a month. Yes, it is only one month later when we revisit twelve-year-old Jessica Darling as she continues valiantly to try to figure out junior high school. As in the first book of this prequel series (Jessica Darling's It List [Little, Brown, 2013/VOYA August 2013]), Jessica has been given a guide to navigating seventh grade, courtesy of her college-age sister, Bethany. This new list, instead of guaranteeing popularity, promises to help Jessica manage her friendships, advice she sorely needs now that she and lifelong friend Bridget have grown apart and her new friends are so hard to understand. Fortunately, instead of relying solely on this latest It List, Jessica has the added benefit of a much more reliable source of advice in the form of Gladdie, her grandmother, who has come from Florida to New Jersey for an extended visit to "be there for her."This latest installment in the perils of Pineville Junior High can be described in just the same way as describing its title character: hilarious, sweet, and smart. This is a fun but not fluffy book; instead it provides some insightful truths about the heartbreaks of growing up, while maintaining a wicked sense of humor.Debbie Kirchhoff.