{"product_id":"one-alley-summer-a-novel-of-friendship-and-growing-up-9781958325407","title":"One Alley Summer: A Novel of Friendship and Growing Up","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"I love this book so much I want to live in it.\"--Margi Preus, Newbery Honor winning author of \u003cem\u003eHeart of a Samurai\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eThe summer before middle school is a time of anxiety and change. A pitch-perfect novel in verse about one girl's wish to simultaneously break free and to belong\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the summer before her first year of middle school, word-chanting, rope-skipping Phee skips her way to imagined fame, writes down her innermost secret thoughts from the safety of a treehouse, and imagines in horror that her new classmates will eat her alive. Suddenly, her well-worn alley world feels too small. So when Mercy Jones moves next door, along with Mercy's skateboard and her don't-mess-with-me attitude, Phee sees the chance for her universe to expand. Even if it means leaving some things behind . . . It is a time of dares, of a legendary dog named Bull, of stretching comfort zones, and of old friendships made over in new ways. And it all takes place over the course of one alley summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eOne Alley Summer\u003c\/em\u003e is and easily accessible novel in verse for middle grade readers. Phee, as a deeply relatable character and narrator, perfectly captures the universally fraught time of the summer between elementary and middle school, tapping into the anxiety we all know so well. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the end, it's a positive, feel-good story about friendship and growing up that will evoke both joy and nostalgia in older readers, as they recall the summers of their own youth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eYlvisaker, Anne:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Anne Ylvisaker is the author of the picture book IAMASAURUS and five previous novels, including The Luck of the Buttons, Button Down, and The Curse of the Buttons, about the comically unlucky Button family; Little Klein, for which she was awarded the McKnight Loft Award in Children's Literature; and Dear Papa, which was named to Booklist's Top Ten Youth First Novels. She lives in Monterey, California with her husband, Dan, and Buster the very good dog. Find her at anneylvisaker.com","brand":"Marble Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51346435047698,"sku":"9781958325407","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b763021f-f531-4681-96fa-07986f64da86.jpg?v=1749043631","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/one-alley-summer-a-novel-of-friendship-and-growing-up-9781958325407","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}