From School Library Journal Grade 3-5-Maddie finds herself courted by Jessica， the popular， spoiled， sought after social leader of the fifth grade. Jessica's friendship is an expensive commodity. Maddie must follow orders and， worst of all， humiliate her best friend， Charlie， by writing mean notes and otherwise ignoring him. She is willing to pay the price and Charlie finds himself ostracized and ridiculed. As the cruelty in the notes escalates， he withdraws into himself and becomes uncommunicative. Maddie is tormented by guilt but cannot escape the lure of popularity. The theme of friends growing apart as they mature is presented from both sides and the character development of both Charlie and Maddie is well done. Charlie， who is a wimp at the start of the book， will have readers rooting for him as he works hard to prevail and cheering for him as he emerges as a self-confidant youngster. However， the secondary characters and the adults are flat and stereotyped. Although not very exciting， the story progresses steadily and would be comfortable， satisfying reading for middle graders.Marlene Gawron， Orange County Library， Orlando， FLCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Booklist Gr. 3^-5 . Although their personalities are very different (Maddie is a rough-and-tumble tomboy， and Charlie carefully considers every move)， these two fourth-graders have been best friends forever. Then， the most popular girl in their class decides she wants to be friends with Maddie--on the condition that Maddie promise to help in a secret campaign of cruel notes directed against Charlie. For a while， Maddie is impressed by Jessica's glamour， despite her realization that she is being used. Eventually， Maddie breaks away， but not before Charlie learns that Maddie has been the cause of his misery. Smith has a keen ear for dialogue and a good grasp of the cruel teasing that often occurs in middle grades. Charlie's character is the most developed in the story; in addition to dealing with the isolation caused by the girls' cruelty， he manages to overcome his fear of heights and to assert himself against Maddie's dominance. Jessica's satisfying comeuppance should be popular with the victims of bullies， too. Kay Weisman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews