I thought everything would make sense when I grew up. But the adults are falling apart, my friends are being weird, and I might not make it to 13.
The Buena Vista RV Resort perches high on a hill overlooking Flathead Lake in Montana. Every day, as long as the weather is nice, I can see rigs of all shapes and sizes crawl up the hill to our entrance. They pause for a moment while the owner’s check in with my mom, then rumble to their site behind a golf cart driven by Franklin Twoteeth, the resort’s all around gofer, or my Aunt Liz.
I’m Sophie Brown, and I can’t wait to grow up and get out of here. Living at an RV resort may sound like fun to you, but it’s a lot of work. Maybe that’s why my dad took a job as a long-haul trucker about four years ago. Mom runs the place most of the year with help from Franklin and Aunt Liz.
These last few months at school, things were different. What was easy isn’t any more. I’m not sure how to act because very few people are acting like they used to. And it’s not just how they act. Boys that used to be my height loom over me. They hang their arms on top of the lockers and stare at the girls who dress up.
I don’t want to dress up. I like wearing jeans. If I wear a skirt, it’s hard to play football or basketball outside.
But if everyone else is changing, will I have to go along just to fit in? Just to have friends?
I’ve got the summer to figure it out. But then my best friend goes away on vacation, some mean girls show up, and things get bad between my parents. How am I ever going to know what to do when I go back to middle school?
Things I’ll Know When I Grow Up is a children’s book for ages 9 through 12 set in small town Montana. It’s ideal for pre-teen girls who are struggling to figure out what is happening in their lives.
