The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower

Bernetta Wallflower is having the worst summer on record. After her ex-best friend, Ashley, frames her for running a school-wide cheating ring, Bernetta can't convince anyone that she's innocent. Her parents ground her until her tonsils grow back, and she's not even allowed to go to her father's magic club, Trunk Number Eight, where she performs every Saturday as a magician's assistant. But what's most terrible of all is that Mount Olive, the private school Bernetta has attended since kindergarten, has decided to take away her scholarship for seventh grade. If Bernetta wants to return to school, she'll need to find $9,000 in three short months. It seems hopeless . . . until Bernetta comes up with a plan that involves a lot of lying, a little bit of trickery, and a mysterious stranger with chocolate-brown eyes.

This is a comic and touching story about losing your footing and finding your way again from the author of The Thing About Georgie.

"Bernetta loves being her father's assistant during his magic act and performing a few tricks of her own, but she never imagines that her sleight-of-hand skills will turn her into a 12-year-old con artist. But after her so-called best friend frames her as the mastermind behind a cheating ring and Bernetta loses her private-school scholarship, Bernetta lets cute boy Gabe talk her into going into the 'confidence business' with him over the summer — how else can she amass the small fortune she needs to pay her tuition? The sneaky scams the two pull off will enthrall readers (in direct proportion to their ability to disturb parents, especially as the stunts require at least as much thievery as cleverness). The author describes a few of Bernetta's father's magic tricks and explains some of Gabe's people-reading techniques, adding to the book's fun quotient. The story builds well as the likable and increasingly desperate Bernetta gets drawn into a wild scheme, looking for a big payout and revenge. Graff (The Thing About Georgie) asks readers to take some leaps of faith with the plotting, but she rewards them with a strong voice. Bernetta's eventual realization — 'There were a million alternate Bernettas she could become, and she wasn't going to get roped into becoming one she didn't like' — reads as hard-won and insightful. Ages 8-12." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The author of "The Thing About Georgie" pens a comic and touching story about a young girl whose former best friend frames her for running a schoolwide cheating ring. After her scholarship is taken away, Bernetta comes up with a plan that involves a lot of lying, a little trickery, and a mysterious stranger.

Lisa Graff is the author of The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflowerand The Thing About Georgie, which was named to five state reading lists, including the Bluebonnet master list. Lisa grew up in a small California town very much like the one in this novel and received an MFA in writing for children from the New School in New York City. When she's not writing her own books, she spends time helping other people's books get published.