illustration by Ming I’m drawn to stories about relationships among friends. There are so many hierarchies in middle school, it’s a wonder anyone makes friends at all. Like Allie, I had a best friend who desperately wanted to be popular. My friend convinced me to sit at the popular kids’ table every day throughout seventh grade. (Even though I sensed they didn’t want us there.) I guess it worked, though, because we did make friends at that table. My best friend, Sue, is the one with long, dark hair standing on the top of the pile. We’re still friends today. The incident that happens in the book, where Crystal throws matches at Allie and calls her “Tick” is something I witnessed in middle school at a dance. Because it made such an impact, I always knew I wanted to include it in a story. “Crystal” by Ming Click here to see my article: “Do Kids Still Have Time for Fun?” I interviewed middle-school students.our%20kids,%20p.1.htmlhttp://my.yahoo.com/p/d.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0
 
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I’m second from the right in the this photo.