If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period

IF A TREE FALLS AT LUNCH PERIOD; Gennifer Choldenko; NY: Harcourt, 2007; Young Adult; 217pp.
Kirsten McKenna's life is on the skids--she has gained 40 pounds, her best friend Rory has ditched her in favor of popular, bossy Brianna, and her parents are always fighting and may be cruising for a divorce. "Enjoying" only intermittent access to the cruel clique Rory has joined, she makes friends with a black kid, Walk, and a Latino boy named Matteo, both of whom have entered her tony private school on scholarship. Some things about this book are predictable--the evil blond clique girls, the awkward protagonist, the warring parents, and the beleaguered children of color--but Choldenko is such a fine writer, she mostly pulls it off. Walk is the most interesting character here: a brilliant, self-possessed young man, sure of who he is and wants to be at a very early age. The twist at the end is a bit contrived, but young people should be drawn in to this story of trying to fit in at an awkward age.