I feel conflicted about this one. Partly, the pastel, beach-scene cover suggests this is a lighter read than it is. The events at the beginning of the book just made me feel icky for a long time (and also questioning whether it was realistic). The writing was fine, but since I read this at the same time as "Wonder," in comparing the two I didn't think this one captured childhood as well. I did enjoy the ending, though, and think a certain kind of girl will be able to relate well to Stella's personality. 
 Upper-elementary, real-life.