Much to her displeasure, Tally is paired with Ava as her roommate on an overnight seventh-grade field trip to Washington, D.C. Tally is blunt, judgmental of others, and protective—in a somewhat smothering way—of her two best friends, Spider and Sonnet. Tally scorns girls like Ava, popular and preoccupied with appearance. Ava is so preoccupied, in fact, that Tally begins to suspect that Ava’s habits (keeping daily lists of numbers, exercising excessively, restricting her diet) may be signs of an eating disorder. Such behavior is puzzling to Tally, who unapologetically loves her own body the way it is. Tally may like not Ava very much but she realizes Ava needs help. She struggles over what to do, the situation all the more challenging because Ava is desperate to keep her illness a secret. A novel for older children and young teens that doesn’t glamorize eating disorders in the least is also matter of fact about adoption, body image, and mental health as it explores acceptance of one’s self and of others. (Ages 9–13)