Synopses & Reviews
For twelve-year-old Julia Richards, life just seems to be full of a lot of waiting. Waiting for the cicadas to emerge, waiting with her best friend, Taylor, for the summer to get interesting, even waiting for her parents to let her move into the much cooler room down the hall.
It seems like the waiting might finally be over when new girl Alyssa and her plushy pink chair arrive across the street on Darcy Lane. However, when Alyssa challenges Julia for Taylors friendship and her crush starts hanging out with Alyssa and Taylor without her, Julia feels as if her once predictable summer is suddenly turning into one big, unexpected showdown. And beating Alyssa at a competitive street game called Russia may be the only way to win it all.
Acclaimed author Tara Altebrandos middle-grade debut features a voice that is pure to the adolescent experience of change, discovery, acute emotion, and endless possibility.
Review
Altebrando brings rich, realistic depth to all of her characters... Its a smart, sensitive portrait of an age when change is in the air, for better or worse.”
--Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
It is summertime, and twelve-year-old Julia Richards cannot stand the anticipation. Everyone on Darcy Lane seems to be holding their breath waiting for the cicadas to emerge, but what Julia and her best friend, Taylor, want is some real excitement. Which arrives in the form of a new neighbor named Alyssa, who introduces a ball game called Russia . . . and an unwelcome level of BFF rivalry.
Suddenly nothing stands unchallenged—not Julia's friendships, her crush, or her independence. But while Julia realizes that she cannot control all the changes in her life, she hangs onto the hope that everything will go in her favor if she can just win one magnificent showdown.
Acclaimed author Tara Altebrando's middle-grade debut features a voice that is true to the adolescent experience, where everything is felt acutely in a whirlwind of all-or-nothing emotion.
Video
The Battle of Darcy Lane from Teeny Tiny Filmworks on Vimeo.
About the Author
Tara Altebrando is the author of several novels, including The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life and Dreamland Social Club. She is also the co-author of Roomies with Sara Zarr. Tara is a Harvard grad living in Astoria, New York, with her husband and two daughters, and you can visit her online at taraaltebrando.com and via Twitter @TaraAltebrando. The Battle of Dacry Lane is Tara Altebrando's middle-grade debut.