Water Balloon

Marley’s life is as precarious as an overfull water balloon—one false move and everything will burst. Her best friends are pulling away from her, and her parents, newly separated, have decided she should spend the summer with her dad in his new house, with a job she didn’t ask for and certainly doesn’t want. On the upside is a cute boy who loves dogs as much as Marley does . . . but young love has lots of opportunity for humiliation and misinterpreted signals. Luckily Marley is a girl who trusts her instincts and knows the truth when she sees it, making her an immensely appealing character and her story funny, heartfelt, and emotionally true.
With her friendships, family, and first crush all hanging in the balance, can one summer change everything?

Audrey Vernick is the author of more than a dozen books for young readers, including Is Your Buffalo Ready For Kindergarten? and Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team. She is also the coauthor of the middle grade novels Two Naomis and Naomis Too. She lives with her family near the ocean in New Jersey. Visit her online at audreyvernick.com