Counting Back From Nine
Valerie Sherrard
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

I loved the way Valerie Sherrard tells a teenager's story in prose.  It reminds me of Creech's Love That Cat.  It was easy to read and the dealing with relationships and the teenage uncertainties about who your true friends are is very well done.  I never expected to like the main character as Laren is not a good friend when the story begins.  My grade 7 and 8 girls would really enjoy this story and a lot of discussion would arise from the issues brought up in this novel.