Changes

Miranda has quite a bit going on in her life. Since her best friend Sal was punched on the street for no reason, he's been distant, shutting Miranda out of his life. This loss leaves Miranda somewhat adrift, as she and Sal have been inseparable since they were at day care together. So she strikes up a friendship with Annemarie, but that involves coming between Annemarie and the stuck-up Julia. And then Colin joins the group, which adds yet more complications - Miranda likes Colin, but she's worried he might like Annemarie.

So far, so sixth-grade good. We all remember the difficulties of childhood friendships - who's who in the pecking order, who's left out in the cold. But there are other things afoot in Miranda's life. There's Marcus, the boy who punched Sal, but who isn't the violent type at all. He's a science and maths geek who thinks about time traveland notices that Miranda's favourite book is [[A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle]]. So why would he punch someone for no reason? There's Miranda's mother, who won't give her boyfriend a key to their apartment, even though Miranda wouldn't mind, and who is about to appear on a popular TV game show to try and win $20,000. There's the laughing man, an itinerant who hangs around outside Miranda's apartment building, practising kung-fu kicks and chanting ''bookbag pocketshoe'' over and over and over.