Ann M Martin

How do you love someone who makes you miserable?  Eleven-year-old Jonathan just wants to have a normal life-for instance, a night when he isn't awakened by screams, or a day when he's not teased by other kids for having a disabled family member. But normal can't happen when your little brother is severely autistic. James, Jonathan's four-year-old brother, needs more help than his parents can give him. And it's not just hard for Jonathan-it's causing...

One moment-that's all it takes to lose faith in everyone Amalia's grades have been slipping. She's been worried about Maggie, whose mom's drinking has gotten out of control. At least Amalia and her new boyfriend, Brendan, are getting along great-on a movie date, she even kisses him for the first time. But then, while she is waiting outside the theater, several drunk girls assault her and call her racist names. Shaken, Amalia can't help thinking that...

With a new stepmom, sister, and baby brother in the house, Kammy's summer can't get any worse-until she goes to camp Twelve-year-old Kammy Whitlock had been fine living with just her dad since her mom died when she was only four. Although she gets along OK with her new stepmom, the addition of a troublesome toddler and a crying new baby has pushed her over the edge. Against her wishes, her parents have decided that Kammy needs a break from home life...

Melanie's first love is the boy of her dreams-can she make the relationship last after summer is gone? Fourteen-year-old Melanie is spending the summer on Fire Island with her family when she meets Justin Hart. Handsome and mysterious, he seems as interested in her as she is in him, but insists that their relationship can only be a summer romance. After summer ends, Melanie tries to let go and starts dating another guy back home. But Justin isn't...

Can Dawn find a life in California to match the one she left behind in Connecticut-or has too much changed between her friends? At Vista, eighth graders are required to write personal journals about their experiences. Meet thirteen-year-old Dawn Schafer, the crunchy and health conscious member of the Baby-Sitters Club, who has returned to California to live with her father, stepmother, and brother. Dawn is thrilled to be reunited with her old friends...

Jonathan thinks his parents are normal-but he's about to see the light of day Nine-year-old Jonathan is convinced that sleeping during the day and waking at night is what every kid does-especially if your parents work at a blood bank all night. But when he breaks his parents' rules and sneaks outside during the daytime, he meets Tobi, a neighborhood girl who fills him in on the truth about telephones, TV, and school. Shocked at his discovery, Jonathan...

Liza thought she was prepared to lose her father - but coping is harder than she ever imagined When Liza's dad finds out he has less than a year to live, he asks his family to help him make his remaining time as happy as possible. After the initial shock, twelve-year-old Liza, her three siblings, and their mother resolve to make her dad's last year wonderful - especially on Christmas, his favorite holiday. Liza tries hard to prepare herself for living...

Arm yourself; prepare yourself; form a shell . . . because if you don't, you'll fall apart. Sunny's mom isn't getting better. In fact, her health (along with her mind) is deteriorating quickly. When Sunny turns to her best friend, Dawn, for support, it seems like all she gets is guilt. It doesn't help that Dawn seems to connect better with Sunny's mom than Sunny does, or that her dad is still so absorbed with work that he is never home. But at least...

Maggie is going to stay in control-even if it kills her. Maggie can't do much about the demands her dad puts on her. Or her mother's alcoholism. Or even her insecurity about being the lead singer of her band, Vanish. The only thing that she can control is what she eats. Or, more accurately, what she doesn't eat. Losing weight makes her feel clean; it gives her the power she so desperately wants. When Maggie's friends begin to worry that she has an...

Teenager Maggie Blume struggles with not being perfect in this spin-off from the Newbery Award–winning author's Baby-sitters Club series. Straight-A student Maggie might seem perfect, but in reality, her life is anything but. There's not much she can do about the demands her dad puts on her, her mother's alcoholism, or her insecurity about following her passion for music-but she can control what she eats. As Maggie's friends begin to worry that...