Blob by Frieda Wishinsky Page A

wonder you have a weight issue.”
    â€œIt’s true. I make amazing cookies. You should try some. Chocolate cookies make people smile. You could use a smile,” I say.
    I see Sarah stifling a laugh. “Did you like the movie?” Sarah asks me.
    â€œYes. Some of the characters reminded me of people I know. Cleo reminded me a little of you, Zoe.”
    Zoe glares at me.
    â€œI have to go, Eve,” says Stephanie. “My mom’s waiting.”
    â€œI’ll come with you. See you, Sarah. See you, Zoe and Mia.”
    â€œSee you,” says Sarah, and for the first time since school began Sarah gives me a real smile. It’s almost a “Let’s be friends again” smile. I smile back, but I don’t know if I can ever be friends with her again.
    Stephanie and I look for her mom’s car in the parking lot.
    â€œDo you want to come over to my house for supper?” Stephanie asks as her mom drives up.
    â€œSure.”
    â€œGreat,” says Stephanie. “I haven’t had a friend over since…my dad left.”
    â€œI’m sorry to hear about your dad,” I say.
    â€œIt’s okay. I still see him. He called last night, and he’s taking me out for supper next weekend.”
    â€œThat’s terrific,” I say. “By the way, I’m glad we went to the movies.”
    â€œMe too. And I really think you’ve lost weight, Eve. You don’t need to lose all that much anyway. But I bet you’ve lost more than two pounds.”
    I laugh. “Maybe I have—but even if I haven’t, I feel good and that’s better than losing weight. It’s even better than eating a hot-fudge sundae. And take it from me, that’s saying a lot.”

Frieda Wishinsky takes her inspiration for Blob from the summer she worked as a counselor. She worked with some tough teens and cheered herself up by visiting the local Dairy Queen—often. Frieda is the award-winning author of over forty books for young people, including Queen of the Toilet Bowl in the Orca Currents series. Frieda lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Orca Currents
    The following is an excerpt from
another exciting Orca Currents novel,
Struck by Deb Loughead.

    978-1-55469-211-8 $9.95 pb
978-1-55469-212-5 $16.95 lib
    Claire’s life is in need of a major overhaul. She’s failing math, her depressed mother won’t get off the couch and the boy of her dreams is dating her nemesis Lucy. Just as Claire is wishing her life were better, lightning strikes. Soon her life changes, and Claire has everything she thought she ever wanted. It doesn’t take long before Claire starts to worry that the cost of good fortune may be too high.

chapter one
    It was one of those days when you don’t even want to step outside—a bleak and windy Sunday in November. And of course my mom asked me to run to the store. She was craving clam chowder. Clam chowder , of all the stupid things! The New England kind. Not the Manhattan kind. And she wanted it, like, right away.
    â€œThere’s some money in my purse, Claire. It’s in the hallway on the table.”
    She wasn’t even looking at me. She was flopped on the sofa with the clicker in her hand, flipping through the channels.
    â€œWhy can’t you go, Mom? I’m kinda busy right now.” Why don’t you get out of the house yourself for a change? You’re getting so fat and lazy! That’s what I really wanted to snap back at her. But I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. They’d been hurt enough lately.
    â€œMy arthritis is acting up again,” she said. “My feet are killing me.” This was her usual excuse. She used to cope with it and just carry on with her day—before Dad left, that is. Ever since then, she’d been housebound. And at fifteen, I didn’t want a stayat-home mom anymore. She needed to get out and get on with her life. But Dad packed her zest for life into his suitcase