Shug

Shug is clever and brave and true (on the inside, anyway). And she's about to become your new best friend.

Annemarie Wilcox, or Shug as her family calls her, is beginning to think there's nothing worse than being twelve. She's too tall, too freckled, and way too flat-chested. Shug is sure that there's not one good or amazing thing about her. And now she has to start junior high, where the friends she counts most dear aren't acting so dear anymore — especially Mark, the boy she's known her whole life through. Life is growing up all around her, and all Shug wants is for things to be like they used to be. How is a person supposed to prepare for what happens tomorrow when there's just no figuring out today?

"Han's heartfelt first novel persuasively expresses the woes of Annemarie 'Shug' Wilcox during her first year of junior high. As the boys and girls at school start warming up to each other, flat-chested, freckle-faced Shug finds herself left out in the cold. Her best friend, Elaine, is 'wrapped up' in her relationship with new boyfriend Hugh, while the boy Shug likes — longtime friend Mark — has started to act distant towards her. To add insult to injury, he asks another girl to the upcoming seventh-grade dance. Meanwhile, tensions mount in the Wilcox household as fights between Shug's parents (caused by her father's prolonged absences and her mother's drinking binges) intensify. Shug feels all alone, like she's the only seventh grader with problems, until she is assigned to tutor her nemesis, Jack, who, as it turns out, can relate to her troubles. With its distinct Southern flavor, its presentation of universal conflicts and a cast of characters sure to be recognizable to readers, this book will likely draw a wide audience. If themes are a little well worn, the author refrains from offering a conventional, sugar-coated ending that ties up all loose ends. Yet the heroine gains enough self-confidence and self-esteem to suggest that the rest of her ride through junior high will probably be less bumpy. Ages 10-14." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

In this gem of a first novel, Han artfully captures the wonder and complexity of that on-the-brink-of-womanhood age. Twelve-year-old Shug is a clever, brave, and true (on the inside) girl experiencing the angst of junior high.

'Jenny Han has her master\'s degree in Creative Writing for children from the New School. Her previous books include Shug and The Summer I Turned Pretty. She lives in New York City.'