Julep O' Toole

By Trudi Strain Trueit

Subjects: Middle-born children, Mothers and daughters, fiction, FIction, Theatrical producers and directors, Friendship, fiction, Friendship in children, Middle schools, Theater, Middle school students, Schools, fiction, Diaries, fiction, Diaries, Fiction, Children's fiction, Production and direction, Confession, juvenile literature, Sixth grade (Education), Conduct of life, Brothers and sisters, Individuality, Juvenile fiction, Schools, Mothers and daughters, Friendship, Leadership

Description: Eleven-year-old Julep feels invisible. At home, sandwiched between perfect older sister, Harmony, and obnoxious younger brother, Cooper, she is only noticed when her parents want something from her--such as when they want her to trade her nice, uncarpeted bedroom for asthmatic Cooper's disgusting one (aka the Chicken Coop), with its dirty carpet and "snot green" walls. At school, Julep gets attention, but not the kind she wants: her journal is read over the loudspeaker and she barfs in gym. Her priorities and her sense of self-worth, however, take a dramatic turn when her parents are away and she must take charge when her brother has a severe asthma attack.