Leave It to Christy — Pamela Curtis Swallow

Christy was a big cheese in sixth grade, but her status is severely diminished in the seventh. She manages to land the lead in ``Peter Pan,'' but only because she hams it up disgracefully, in her older sister's eyes. When forced to come up with a project for science class, she chooses to study molds. But Christy has depthher concern for a talented but troubled young pianist gets the boy over a rough spot. And when it looks like she's out of the play, Christy has matured enough to handle the disappointment. Readers will know Christy is going to come out on top; she makes happy endings wherever she goes. But her story isn't slick or overly sweet; because of the humor in Swallow's writing, Christy is a peachtart and just right. Ages 10-up. (November)