Blister, formally known as Alyssa Reed, decides to take a new stronger identity after her baby sister is born stillborn and her father moves to a new apartment and gets a new girlfriend. At school she lies about her life in an attempt to fit in. At home she deals with her depressed mother and her emotions about her father's new life.

One of my regular patrons recommended this book to me. She's 9 and I really wondered as I was reading this how much of the deeper meaning of the book she got. The main character of the story is 10, and she doesn't fully understand what's going on around her, only that it is interrupting the life she wishes she had. For instance, she believes that by stealing the clothes of her father's new girlfriend she can break them up and get her family back together.

This was a really depressing read, but it all about bouncing back and tackling all those hard situations that life throws at you. In the end, Blister does not make the cheerleading squad at her new school because, as one of her classmates says, it's a popularity contest. The book ends with Blister stating that it doesn't matter that much because she is elastic and will bounce back from this sitation, as she has bounced back from situations before.

I would recommend this for 7th and 8th graders who can fully grasp the severity of what's going on.