In some ways, I really identified with the main character. Like her, I tend to worry about change (especially change that I can't control) and to be somewhat introspective--thinking about things deeply. In other ways though, I can see how much I've grown from the selfish concerns that engulf an eighth grader to someone who can see others's side of the picture.

The chapters are written in the form of the prayer of the main character to God. This created confusion a few times when the narration would refer to You (and I'd forgotten that the character was praying because I'd gotten caught up in the story.)

I have not read other books in this series and there were a few times when the narrative referred to a past incident and didn't give enough detail of it for me to know what had happened or why it was included in the book. Some of the characters mentioned in this book seemed peripheral and I wondered why they were mentioned at all. (I'm guessing that readers who had read the series would wonder "what happened to . . .?" so the author would but the character's name in just to keep the character fresh in their minds. ( )