Kathleen Raymundo

It's Cathryn's first day of seventh grade, but she's not feeling particularly enthusiastic since she doesn't have any friends. As she gets herself ready in the morning and boards the bus, she's irritated by how noisy the world around her is and takes comfort in blocking out all of the external sounds with her headphones. In the seat in front of her, a maddeningly talkative younger boy attempts to engage her in conversation, but then settles for borrowing some school supplies for a project.

My daughter selected this sweet and poignant title to fulfill a "read a book based on a true story" 6th grade summer reading bingo square. It was so tiny (just 26 pages) that I decided to read it as well before returning it to the library.… (more)