In this coming-of-age novel, Lark alternates between speaking with the vocabulary and shaky grammar of an angry child and the vocabulary and metaphors of an adult. The book's beginning introduces readers to Lark and the object of her frustration/attraction, Skip, aka the Motorboy. Lark will spend the rest of the book vacillating amongst ignoring, chasing and making a fool of Skip.

      This is a book that means well, but which is confusing in its presentation of a l0-year-old girl who can kiss a boy and then pretend to be a Sailor Scout in the same afternoon. Lark is not meant to be a perfect character: she is supposed to learn from her mother and her friends that life and relationships are not perfect, but that, in the end, they are worth fighting for. A more consistent presentation of Lark would have gone a long way toward overcoming the shortcomings of characterization in the book.

Not Recommended.