Frankie Wallop

Francine, known as Frankie, is a seventh grader who lives with her father, Robert, and her two brothers, Skip and Nutter. Frankie's mother died years earlier. Frankie is immediately worried when she discovers that her father has kissed a woman he met in Washington. Frankie's fears are so intense that she tells a series of lies to this woman, Ayanna, in an effort to bring a stop to this budding romance. While Frankie is obsessed with her fears regarding her father, she stops paying attention to everything else in her life, including her school work and her younger brother. There seems to be no limit to the lies Frankie is willing to tell Ayanna, but she surprises herself when she begins to tell lies to her father, teachers, and friends. Those lies build up until Frankie can no longer keep track of them.

Frankie feels alone with...