Deidre Sullivan: Prim Improper

The first in a series about a deeply loveable protagonist, by a writer with an impeccable ear for a real teenage voice Primrose Leary has just started middle school. Likes: her pet rat, Roderick; her best friend, Joel; and being a little bit different (but not in the weird different sense--she wouldn't like to be the only bald girl in her class or the only girl who always smelled of ham, or anything). Dislikes: living with Fintan (her mustachioed dad), the boy-school that Joel's toddled off to without her, and not having her mother around any more. Hilariously and cleverly written, Prim Improper is the debut novel from Deirdre Sullivan.