A bullied San Antonio sixth-grader finds himself paired with his chief tormentor for a fund-raiser in this issues-driven fiction debut. Shy Zack only wants to keep his head down. But when he's paired with hyperactive class clown José to supervise a chocolate sale that will earn his class entry to the 7th-8th Grade Dance, he is stuck with a series of mettle-testing challenges om José's refusal to do any work at all to the revelation that classmate Janie has eaten nearly $200 worth of the stock. Not only does Zack rise to each (throwing together a last-minute car wash to recoup the loss) but he even reads up on eating disorders and organizes a peer intervention for Janie. By book's end, he's a hero.Though Anderson, a former teacher, crafts a picture of school as a whirl of humiliating snaps, teachers unable to control much of anything, and clueless administrators forcing students to endure ineffectual anti-bullying assemblies, he mostly manages to keep the overall tone light and leaves his characters dancing.

Gr 3-6 Zack Delacruz prefers to stay in the background. He knows that being noticed will only lead to trouble. After a school assembly on bullying, Zack decides to stand up for a fellow classmate and in the process gets roped into being the lead fund-raiser for the school dance (if he and his classmates sell enough chocolate bars, they'll be allowed to attend the dance for the first time). Zack goes from flying under the radar to being the center of attention. Things go well until someone eats several of the boxes instead of selling them, leaving Zack to pick up the pieces. Though characterization is light, Zack's class is a diverse mix of students. Zack is a relatable narrator and embodies the middle school experience. The steady pace makes this novel a solid pick for reluctant readers, though some of the descriptions of Zack's anxieties seem to drag on. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries looking to add more middle grade realistic fiction. Kristyn Dorfman, The Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, NY