The Slightly True Story Of Cedar B. Hartley — Martine Murray

Cedar B. Hartley is exasperating and potentially infamous. She steps on cracks. She plans to live an unusual life. She is the winner of her school's Bat Pole Championship (which she made up). She misses her brother Barnaby, who ran away, and who sends her postcards from all over the country. Her mom says she's like a bull at a gate, and she's definitely a hopeless winker -- both eyes go at once, like a blink.

But Cedar B. Hartley has potential. She knows the difference between touching and touching on a couch. She knows the long distance between an idea and a real thing. And she has a green thumb for people; people like Ricci, the Yugoslavian lady next door, whose dog needs an operation. Like Caramella, her best friend, who never guesses when you ask, "Guess what?" And like Kite, a boy she meets with a voice like a river.
This is the story of girl unraveling her own mysteries, learning to be an acrobat, and changing the world for everyone around her.