Twelve-year-old Easter Ann Peters' plan to make her seventh-grade year awesome is derailed as she copes with her mother's alcoholism in their tiny lakeside town. ."..poignantly deals with parental alcoholism...belongs on the shelf of every school counselor in America."--Betty Ford Institute.

Twelve-year-old Easter Ann Peters has a plan to make seventh grade awesome: Operation Cool. She's determined to erase years of being known as the quiet, straight-A student who can't think of a decent comeback to a bully she calls Horse Girl. When the confident new girl, Wreni, becomes her long-needed best friend, Easter lets her personality shine. The coolest guy in school takes a sudden interest.

But as tough times at school fade away, so does a happy life at home. Mom is drinking, and Easter works double-overtime to keep their secret in the tiny lakeside town. Operation Cool derails. Fast. Can Easter discover the solution in time? Or will seventh grade be her worst year yet?