UP A CREEK

Mixing an embarrassing Mom with Starshine’s first period, plus an accident for Grandma results in a light-hearted confection that wants to touch your heart without risking real pain. There’s nothing bleak here, as Starshine’s mother Miracle is obviously a pie-eyed idealist determined to make the world a better place—and hauling Starshine along for the ride. To prevent the demise of some oak trees, Miracle takes to living in a convenient tree house, attracting the media, who seem determined to embarrass her daughter rather than stick to actual news. Mr. Charbonet, best friend’s dad, fills in when the diligent caretaker grandmother falls and is taken to the hospital. Starshine may act out in her panic about who is going to take care of her, but readers will know that her world is full of loving adults, including the grim, demanding English teacher who clues Starshine in on how to figure out who her real father is. This is for tender readers who can’t handle a big wallop, and it succeeds in filling the bill by providing a modicum of suspense and a picture of a 13-year-old stepping into the adult world safely, if not easily. Sugar for that young adolescent sweet tooth. (Fiction. 9-11)