A brilliant new comedy drama from Jean Ure, all about the ups and downs of seeking fame.Carmen is in Year 9 and has serious ambitions to be a rock star. She has a great voice, has taught herself to play the guitar, and with one of her best friends, Josh, actually writes her own songs. The school is having a Top Spot contest for would-be pop stars, and Carmen eagerly puts her name on the list. But when Carmen hears a spiteful girl at her school make comments about her weight, she bunks off school and swears she is never going back...

The first book about ten-year-old FRANKIE FOSTER ? the girl who wants to help, but ends up causing chaos! Frankie Foster loves fixing people's problems. Her help might not always be welcome ? and she might cause the odd total disaster ? but Frankie always fixes things. Eventually! It all started with the ?My Beginnings? essays that Frankie and her classmates had to write for English. Her best friend, Jem, wrote all about how she felt being adopted and it was so good it got chosen to be read out at the end of term Speech Day!But writing the essay stirs up some questions for Jem, and she starts wondering about the identity of her biological mum. Needless to say, Frankie jumps at the chance to uncover the mystery and makes it her mission to reunite mother and daughter? regardless of the consequences!

A standout title in Jean Ure's acclaimed series of humorous, delightful and poignant stories written in the form of diaries and letters which make them immediately accessible to children. Becky Bananas is eleven years, nine months, three days and fourteen hours old and her great ambitions are: To visit the world-famous Wonderland theme parkTo star on the TV programme This Is Your LifeTo become a famous dancerAnd to be twelve A poignant and heartwarming story of Becky Bananas, who has leukaemia. "It's always sad having to say goodbye to someone you love. But I wouldn't have missed knowing someone like Becky for the world!" Jean Ure

A heart-warming gem of a novel about a very special girl who suddenly finds herself all alone in the world--¦Laurel is only twelve when her mum dies and she is shipped off to stay with relatives she hardly knows. Her new family don't seem to care about anything Laurel loves, including books and Mr Pooter, her old marmalade-coloured cat.So Laurel decides that she won't feel anything: she'll become Ice Lolly, the girl with the frozen heart. But a special friend and a mysterious letter open up new possibilities for Ice Lolly, and for Mr Pooter--¦

Cresta's diary starts: "My mum! She has boys on the brain!" This is a fun, pacey diary-based story told through the eyes of a typical contemporary girl of 14 in an 'AB FAB' kind of family. Cresta and Charlie are seriously embarrassed by their parents who insist on behaving like teenagers... Cresta's mother and her boyfriend play loud music when she's trying to work, and keep her awake at night with their noisy parties. Charlie, who's a bit plump, complains that her mum keeps nagging her to go on a diet. "Hasn't she ever heard of anorexia?" she complains. Cresta and Charlie are serious about their schoolwork and their careers and they are not going to waste their time thinking about boys... at least until they've taken their A levels... But then they meet some seriously cool guys.

More comedy, calamity and cool characters from acclaimed-writer Jean Ure. Joanna, Chloe and Dee are the best of friends. They may be seen as outsiders at school, but they're an inseparable trio. Joanna who narrates the story, lives with her mum. But Mum's not your normal, average parent -- she's a medium. Cool, you might think, but Jo's inherited her mother's psychic ability, which is not really compatible with school life! When one of their classmates goes missing, Chloe and Dee persuade Jo to use her gift to find her -- but having a gift is one thing, dealing with the consequences is another...

One of the brilliant titles in Jean Ure's acclaimed series of humorous, delightful and poignant stories written in the form of diaries and letters which make them immediately accessible to children. Megan and Annie are bright twelve-year-old girls, who are desperate to meet their favourite author, Harriet Chance. When Annie makes contact with Harriet 's daughter via an Internet chat room, the girls are ecstatic. Lori helps them to arrange a secret meeting with Harriet, and the girls congratulate themselves on being so clever. But when they meet the author she's a bit strange. Why does Megan seem to know more about the author than she does herself? Why does Harriet seem so edgy? Is this really their favourite author, or are the girls in real trouble...? Jean Ure's diary series includes: Passion Flower, Pumpkin Pie, Shrinking Violet, Skinny Melon and Me, The Secret Life of Sally Tomato, Becky Bananas, This is Your Life! and Fruit and...

Jake is a sci-fi buff, so when he's abducted by aliens he's delighted.But when he realises that his younger sister has also been taken, he'snot so pleased. What do they want with her? They find themselves on a space ship manned by aliens from aconfederation of planets. They form part of a Galaxy Patrol team,ceaselessly patrolling the galaxy to check on alien incursions intoless advanced worlds, such as Earth. They recruit children as localagents to help them in their work. Children believe: adults don't. NowJake and Rosie's first mission is to rescue the Queen, who has beentaken over by an alien bug ...

One of the brilliant titles in Jean Ure's acclaimed series of humorous, delightful and poignant stories written in the form of diaries and letters which make them immediately accessible to children. This is the story of how Mandy learns to cope with her untidy life and finally emerges triumphant. Mandy Small has trouble writing so Cat, her teacher, suggests that she tells her life story into a tape recorder. So begins Mandy's funny and sometimes sad story of life with her loving but chaotic parents -- Dad, the Elvis look-alike, and Mum, whose idea of a special meal is burnt toast! Then there's school, where the horrible Tracey Bigg picks on Mandy and her timid friend, Oliver, not to mention Old Misery Guts, the landlady and Nan, who thinks that Mandy's parents aren't fit to look after her. With so many things to worry about, Mandy begins to think that she's in danger of turning into a real Fruit and Nutcase! ...

One of the brilliant titles in Jean Ure's acclaimed series of humorous, delightful and poignant stories written in the form of diaries and letters which make them immediately accessible to children. Who wants to be one of three? And who wants to be the middle one of three? Polly is stuck in the middle, with a beautiful, fashion-conscious older sister and a high-achieving younger brother grabbing all the attention. Polly wants to be the one to get noticed, the one to become a famous actress, the one who is thin. But when Polly decides to take drastic action to shed pounds, she loses more than just weight. Jean Ure's diary series includes: Shrinking Violet, Skinny Melon and Me, The Secret Life of Sally Tomato, Becky Bananas, This is Your Life and Fruit and Nutcase.

A humorous and heart-warming story about a little sister, a big sister, a cat, a dad and... a new girlfriend! Bitsy, or 'Jelly Baby' as she's sometimes called, has been doing just fine living with Dad and big sister Em since Mum died. The housework may not always get done, and dinners might not always be at the table, but none of them ever minded! Until one day Dad brings home a girlfriend – and everything changes. Now it looks like it might be down to the Jelly Baby of the family to keep it from falling apart...

Four stray dogs all with a story to tell of their rescue and how they came to live at Munchy Flats Cottage with their people, Flossie and Jo. The second title in this new series. Bella is a pedigree – her real name being Princess Isadora of Bude! She's a lapdog and spoilt rotten by her elderly owner. When her owner is taken into hospital, Bella has to go and live with another family and is bullied and teased by the other dogs. Bella's hair gets matted, her ribbon torn and she's very unhappy. She runs back to the hospital where she thinks her owner is, but sadly her owner has died. Bella has to learn to live with her new bullying siblings. One day, out in the park Bella is bullied by a pack of dogs and is left cowering in the bushes. Her new owners decide that they must find Bella a new home and they take her to Munchy Flats Cottage where she settles in nicely with Buster... A heartwarming ending to a story about bullying dogs.

A fabulous story by Jean Ure, a must for any girl's collection! At Parkfield High no one would have thought nerdy Ruth and super-cool Shayanne would be friends -- but maybe there's more to Shayanne than meets the eye. Ruth is not enjoying her new school. Things were fine at her junior school, but here at Parkfield High, if you're not in a gang you're no one. Even her old mates don't want to know her any more and the bullies are making her life a misery. Enter Shayanne, the new girl. Shayanne is cool, collected and doesn't give a stuff about any silly gangs. Ruth is astonished and delighted when Shay pals up with her. The bullies leave her alone and it's great to have a special friend again. But is the supercool Shay as together as she thinks, and why has she been excluded from two other schools?

The first in a brand-new series about dancing, friendship and following your dreams from best-loved author Jean Ure, whose books are described by Jacqueline Wilson as "funny, funky, feisty - and fantastic reads!" When new girl Caitlyn arrives at Coombe House School Maddy is sure she must be a fellow ballet dancer; she certainly has all the grace and poise of a ballerina. So when Caitlyn denies it, Maddy isn't convinced. But it isn't until she comes across Caitlyn practising ballet in the gym that she realises there must be more to her story... Just what can it be? Maddy is determined to find out!

A coming of age story about self-discovery and independence from the Queen of Tween, Jean Ure. 'I've always been the quiet one in my dramatic family. Not a drama queen, or a genius composer, or a twin, but Just Peachy. Mum says I've got my own thing going on… I just wish I knew what that was! When I decide I want to attend Sacred Heart school rather than Summerville where my family have always gone everyone finally stops to listen! Stepping out on my own is scary, but I need space to find out who I am and what I'm good at.' A new novel from Jean Ure, about a girl trying to find who she really is – and maybe a friend along the way…