The Summer Before Boys

Julia and Eliza have always been best friends, and this summer is no different.  They are both twelve, and Julia is spending the whole summer with Eliza because her mother has been deployed in Iraq, and her father is away working.

Everything starts out like normal, and the two girls can easily lose themselves in the world of make-believe they create.  They aren't walking to the lake; they are pioneer children crossing the plains.  They aren't two regular girls sweating away in tanks and shorts; they are Victorian ladies in white dresses with mothers looking for suitors.

Of course things are different this year because Julia is always worried about her mother, but something else has changed.  Almost immediately, Julia notices a boy.  For the first time, she's just as worried about getting him to notice her as she is about spending time with her cousin.  Maybe even a little more.  Will their friendship survive?

Nora Raleigh Baskin's newest book beautifully deals with the struggles of children of parents at war and the struggles between friends as they transition from children to teens.