HANNAH ON HER WAY
by Claudia Mills
Fifth grade in Hannah's new Maryland school is difficult: the other girls care ``about makeup, clothes, and boys'' while Hannah's concerns are still ``books, art, and make-believe.'' Although initially ambivalent about popular Caitie's overtures, Hannah comes to enjoy this first friend. With Caitie's encouragement, Hannah is successful in some new ventures; still, Caitie's clowning and irresponsibility cause her difficulty and embarrassment. Hannah begins to feel like a Caitie clone, foregoing her own principles for Caitie's approval. During a painful quarrel, she tells Caitie that she isn't ready to be grown up. Hannah's mother, however, helps her understand that Caitie really does value her individuality, while Hannah herself realizes that she doesn't ``have to go along with everything the other girls [do]. She could still be Hannah, different from the others, but liking them, too.'' Mills, who has a gift for creating likable characters and catching a child's perception of problems, is the author of a substantial body of deftly crafted stories about middle-grade girls; Hannah is a worthy addition to the roster. (Fiction. 8-12)