PROJECT WHEELS

Now that they're in sixth grade, Angela and her small-town Kentucky friends are discovering raging hormones that complicate their relationships, their party plans, and their class Christmas project. Meanwhile, Angela's friend Faye (or is she a former friend?) wants their class to raise money to buy a motorized wheelchair for Wayne, a paralyzed classmate; the project must be kept secret from Wayne himself while the other kids try to raise $1,000, which requires a lot of planning, work, and cooperation. Since Faye develops a crush on a different boy every week or two, alliances are in a constant and confusing state of flux; still, all ends well. Angela is a likable narrator whose tone is light even when she's discussing insincere born-again Christianity, racism, or her father's problems in coming to terms with her puberty. Not first-rate, but a readable, pleasant additional purchase. (Fiction. 9-12)