HANDS AROUND LINCOLN SCHOOL

When Amy (the narrator) and three other sixth graders form a ""Save the Earth"" club, Amy is the reluctant one: membership means making presentations in classrooms and, ultimately, performing on stage in front of her school. Best friend Lindsay, who launches the effort, becomes radicalized by their work, confronting teachers and spouting statistics; her convictions are rewarded with a suspension from school. Meanwhile, Amy may be shy, but she's no doormat; whether disagreeing with Lindsay or a potential boyfriend, she's never afraid to speak out. Plotting here is little more than the two girls' frequent quarreling and making up, but Asch writes with an insider's knowledge of an elementary school's cliques and clashes. Realistic details about consciousness-raising in the 90's are included, and the girls' environmental work shows reasonable results: a few more students become aware of the problems. A nice, simple school story for not so-simple times.