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With multiple starred reviews, don't miss this humorous, poignant, and original contemporary story about bullying, broken friendships, social media, and the failures of communication between kids. From John David Anderson, author of the acclaimed Ms. Bixby's Last Day.

In middle school, words aren't just words. They can be weapons. They can be gifts. The right words can win you friends or make you enemies. They can come back to haunt you. Sometimes they can change things forever.

When cell phones are banned at Branton Middle School, Frost and his friends Deedee, Wolf, and Bench come up with a new way to communicate: leaving sticky notes for each other all around the school. It catches on, and soon all the kids in school are leaving notes?though for every kind and friendly one, there is a cutting and cruel one as well.

In the middle of this, a new girl named Rose arrives at school and sits at Frost's lunch table. Rose is not like anyone else at Branton Middle School, and it's clear that the close circle of friends Frost has made for himself won't easily hold another. As the sticky-note war escalates, and the pressure to choose sides mounts, Frost soon realizes that after this year, nothing will ever be the same.

• Finding Your Tribe: Frost, Deedee, Wolf, and Bench have a perfect system. But what happens when their close circle of friends is put to the ultimate test?
• The New Kid: A new girl named Rose arrives and isn't like anyone else. When she sits at their lunch table, the tribe's unspoken rules begin to change.
• Words as Weapons: After a school-wide cell phone ban, sticky notes become the new social media. But for every kind message, there's a cruel one designed to hurt.
• Standing Up for What's Right: As the note-passing escalates, Frost must choose between what's easy and what's right, discovering that true friendship requires courage.