Stick With Me: A Heartfelt Chapter Book about Finding True Friendship and Standing Up to Mean Girls for Children (Ages 8-12)

“Stunning.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

“A pitch-perfect ode to friendship.”—Good Morning America

An ice skater without a rink. An artist without a place to draw. Two misfit girls who become unlikely friends over the course of an unusual week. Readers of Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Rebecca Stead, and Lisa Graff will adore Stick with Me.

?Izzy’s best friend seems to be ditching her for the Queen of Mean, Daphne Toll. Izzy wants to fit in and have some real friends, but all she really has are her drawings. And then her family rents out their house during winter break for some extra cash—and that family’s daughter is sleeping in Izzy’s room and attending the same camp!

Wren is focused on perfecting her ice-skating routine after tanking at sectionals last year. But when her sister qualifies for a life-changing treatment for her epilepsy, Wren is carted off to stay in a rented home near Boston. It doesn’t help that she’s forced to attend the local theater camp, where it seems like the mean girls have it out for her.

Will Izzy and Wren’s shared status as targets of Phoebe and Daphne bring them closer? Or will middle school drama prevent them from ever becoming friends?

Jennifer Blecher, the author of the acclaimed Out of Place, writes with a pitch-perfect ear for tween girls about the ups and downs of middle school friendships. Told from dual perspectives, Stick with Me is a story about fitting in and figuring yourself out.

What happens when the girl sleeping in your bedroom is the only one who understands?

• Dual POV: See the story unfold from two perspectives: Izzy, the artist who feels left behind, and Wren, the ice skater whose world is turned upside down.
• Forced Proximity: One house, one theater camp. Izzy and Wren can’t escape each other—or the mean girls determined to make their week miserable.
• Finding Your Voice: A moving story about standing up to bullies, discovering what matters most, and learning that the best friends are the ones who see the real you.
• Family Challenges: This powerful novel tackles tough topics like sibling illness and financial worries with sensitivity and hope.

Jennifer Blecher is the author of Camp Famous, Stick with Me, and Out of Place. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and their three children, but spends part of every summer on Martha’s Vineyard. www.jenniferblecher.com