Altebrando, Tara. The Battle of Darcy Lane.

4Q * 3P * M * J

Altebrando, Tara. The Battle of Darcy Lane. Running Press, 2014. 208p. $14.95. 978-0-7624-4948-4.

It is summer. Julia and her best friend Taylor are busy playing "millionaire," after having swum and played the day away. The only worry anyone on their whole block seems to have is the impending infestation of cicadas. New neighbors will be moving into the house across the street, so at least there is something exciting to look forward to. When the new neighbors arrive, however, a girl named Alyssa moves in. She has more interesting games to play, turns her nose up at Julia, and begins to steal her best friend. Julia feels torn from Taylor; sometimes needs her mom and sometimes wants nothing to do with her; and wonders if she is more than friends with the boy next door, Peter, in this summer of unexpected change.

Realistically portraying the angst tweens go through as friends move on, peers become more important, and things you once loved (like unicorns) are seen as "babyish," The Battle of Darcy Lane will appeal to girls starting to outgrow childhood. That being said, the setting and situations created seem a bit oversimplified or part of an earlier decade where kids sat around with no electronics, two-parent households were the norm, and cicadas were the biggest worry for a suburban neighborhood. This book would be a safe read for girls on the verge of adolescence or struggling with friendships, and would be a good addition to an elementary library or for young middle school readers.--Dianna Geers.