Seven Long Years Until College

School barely has started, yet 11-year-old Natalie already has three problems: her fun-loving, disorganized mother is getting married on short notice. her older sister Christa is going away to college, and her best friend Carla is moving to Cleveland. Natalie’s bossy new step-grandmother causes even more problems by trying to redecorate the house, take over the kitchen, and remake the personalities of Natalie and her mother. The hardest thing for Natalie, however, is trying to fill the void left by her sister and friend when they leave. 

In this entertaining, upbeat novel, Natalie learns that trying to escape problems can only make them worse, and that it is possible to triumph in the end.