THE UNCIVIL WAR

From Klass (Shooting Star, 1996, etc.), the story of an ordinary girl overwhelmed by her parents’ good intentions. Asa Anderson, 12, is feeling insecure: She’s overweight and doesn’t know how to tell her mother to stop feeding her. Robert Lee, a cute new student from the South, makes fun of Asa’s unusual name and weight. But Asa’s no wimp, and she declares war on both her mother—who is pregnant and concerned that the new baby may be a “preemie,” as Asa was—and Robert Lee. For her mother, Asa finds inspiration in the tactics of Mahatma Ghandi and satyagraha; she gets her mother’s attention with a hunger strike and procures medical backing to lose weight. A brush with tragedy—Asa’s mother delivers the baby prematurely, as feared—brings out Robert Lee’s true feelings for Asa. This readable, funny story is familiar, but will comfort those seeking lightweight fare about a heroine who knows her own mind. (Fiction. 8-12)