Margolis, Leslie

As the school talent show nears, Annabelle's plan to display her dog training skills goes awry and she is asked to be a student judge instead, which seems perfect until her friends begin asking for special treatment.

Sixth-grader Annabelle spends autumn coping with competing groups of friends at school, her mother's pre-wedding stress, learning to get along with a cute stepbrother-to-be, and such momentous events as wearing her first bra and learning to shave her legs.

After Annabelle's mother starts dating a new boyfriend, she faces life in a new town with a new school, and a new puppy, and while training the dog Annabelle decides to experiment with some of her training techniques to deal with the unruly middle school boys in her class.