After Carson is accepted into an elite middle school, she grows nervous about leaving her old school for one filled with snobby rich kids who are sure to make Carson feel out of place. Her first day, she runs into (literally!) the school mean girl, Jessa, inadvertently becoming Jessa's newest target. When Carson befriends Jessa's crush, her attacks on Carson only worsen. None of the administrators believes that Jessa is a bully, so Carson and her friends come up with a plan to expose Jessa's bullying to the whole school. While the characters are never fully developed and the overall takedown of Jessa is a bit too tidy, the topics of bullying and overcoming tough situations make the book relevant and relatable to readers. With a diverse cast of characters and easy-to-read text that never talks down to readers, Freeman's newest series is a good choice for libraries looking to add to their high/low collections for middle-school readers.

This is the first in a new hi-lo series for middle school readers from the author of the Port City High series. Carson is an African-American seventh-grader who has just transferred from her urban middle school in Texsun City, Texas, to the prestigious Summit Middle School, "designed for the community's elite." There, she quickly makes friends with Emma and Mai, and runs afoul of the school's "queen bee" and resident mean girl, Jessa. Carson has to figure out how to navigate the social waters of Summit, keep her friends, deal with Jessa's bullying, and handle her first maybe-boyfriend.The story's point of view constantly hops around, sometimes even within a single paragraph; the conflict is easily resolved; and Freeman has a tendency to tell readers what the characters are feeling rather than show it. Consider this an optional purchase, but only for libraries that need more hi-lo books for middle-school readers.Sarah Flowers.