Freshman Year
Fourteen-year-old Aliza Daskal is excited to start ninth grade. As a freshman at Bnos Mindel High School, she wants to stand out and be noticed by the teachers. But when a prank goes awry, her high school dreams are dashed.
Elianna Klein has always stuck close to Aliza’s side. When her mother suggests that maybe it’s time for her to find some new friends, Elianna is devastated. Maye she doesn’t agree with everything Aliza does, but they’re best friends. She can’t turn her back on Aliza – not even when she thinks Aliza’s prank idea will get them into trouble.
Chavie Hertz is looking forward to high school. She’ll finally meet other girls who understand what it means to make sure everything is perfect. But her first week ends with the biggest imperfection of all: being called into the principal’s office.
Hadassah Berg doesn’t know anyone else at Bnos Mindel, which is perfectly fine with her. She has her books, and that’s enough, no matter what her mother thinks. When the fire alarm goes off, she ignores it, assuming it’s an accident…until she gets pulled into the principal’s office.
As punishment for their transgressions, Aliza, Elianna, Chavie, and Hadassah are assigned to run the school’s Sunday program, a weekend program to entertain girls ages five to eight. Sparks fly as they learn to work together and make the Sunday program a success.