P.S. Tell No One

In her new middle grade novel, modern-day Judy Blume Vikki VanSickle has created a compelling and relatable novel about adolescence and puberty that is part Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants part Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

At the start of seventh grade, when their teacher confiscates their cell phones, four best friends, nicknamed Sunny, MP, Twix, and Hoops decide to write to each other in an old diary during class as a means of secretly communicating with each other. Anything goes in the diary as long as they don’t use real names and they tell no one about it. The girls’ different voices are identified by different fonts in the diary entries, and the pages are filled with cute doodles and sidenotes by the girls as they discuss everything from family life to boys to sex.

VanSickle does an excellent job of defining the girls’ different personalities, and, without ever being heavy-handed, she deftly covers the many questions/concerns that kids have as they enter puberty. As the year progresses, readers follow along with the girls as they discuss the sexual terms they learn in their Sex-Ed classes and their anxieties about zits, crushes, first kisses, periods, friendship, and anything else that comes to mind.

Funny, frank, and true-to-life, this novel will have young readers wishing that they were friends with this foursome. P.S. Tell No One is a must-read for middle-graders who are grappling with similar challenges as Sunny and her friends.