THE UNOFFICIAL LOLA BAY FAN CLUB

Ardent fandom meets friendship drama.

Summertime and the living is easy: It’s peanut butter–and-blueberry jam sandwiches and fun days swimming at the pool for Iris and BFF Leeza. Two besties living across the street from each other, they spent their childhoods side by side, gossiping about and listening to singer Lola Bay. After starting a fan club for their favorite star, the sixth graders connect with seventh grader Dana. This creates a rift between narrator Iris and Leeza, as the former idolizes Dana’s vast body of Lola Bay knowledge, and the latter, less enthralled, decides to get involved in other activities. Further trouble ensues when Dana, who has a controlling personality, convinces Iris to use her mother’s credit card without permission to purchase coveted Lola Bay concert tickets. Things escalate to a crisis point when Dana betrays Iris in a very public way, forcing Iris to face the truth, recognize who really has her back, and stand up for herself. This novel focused on friendship deals with emotional abuse and family ties during the often stressful transition from elementary to middle school. The conversational tone is reader friendly, and many young people will recognize the issues that are explored, from shifting social status to online bullying. Most characters default to White.