Thanks for reading this. It's a privilege to write for young people! The New York Times calls AVA AND PIP (Sourcebook) "a love letter to language." Ava is ten and in the first diary, she tries to help her shy big sister -- but does a terrible thing. In AVA AND TACO CAT, Ava is desperate for a pet... but is Taco trouble? In AVA XOX, a new girl asks out Ava's best guy friend and Ava despairs -- and also tries to help a girl who is made fun of because of her weight. I've been "Dear Carol" at Girls' Life since 1994. I majored in French/Spanish comp lit major at Yale and have an M.A. from Middlebury. Visit the all new www.carolweston.com for info and photos, and advice too. GIRLTALK: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You, my first book, (HarperCollins), has been translated into 12 languages. Now in a fourth edition, it's as sensible, encouraging, and "outstanding" (SLJ) as ever. Among my other 16 books: The Diary of Melanie Martin (Knopf), a novel about a fourth grader and her brother Matt the Brat. The sibs visit Italy, Spain, Holland, and NYC. Coming up: The Speed of Life for readers age 12 and up.