Just Friends

Gr 8 Up—Resident bad boy Chance and Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A's Jenny are a mismatched pair who are assigned as partners for a junior oral communications class. When Chance tells Jenny to chill about the assignment, she's not sure what to do. As they both step to the front of the class to report on their nonexistent "how I spent my summer vacation" interview, one smooth lie snowballs into the whole school believing Chance and Jenny have been besties since they were three years old. Suddenly the bookworm is sitting with the popular kids at lunch and Chance is spending every day after school at Jenny's house. Slowly the lie becomes real. Chance seems to jump at the opportunity for a real friendship, while Jenny is excited to be part of the "in" crowd, something she's experienced only through TV and movies. When Jenny dates Drake, the hot lead singer of a cool local band, will Chance and Jenny's lie turn against them? Can these two be honest about their feelings for each other, or are they really "just friends"? Pitcock's stock teen romance hits the right notes. There's nothing unique or exceptional about the story line or characters, but this is a solid, mostly lighthearted offering for fans of the genre.