Fifth grade Olivia has many friends and can float easily between groups. One day, Mr. Florez (her teacher) announces the date for the annual fifth grade Variety Show. The students excitedly discuss ideas for their acts and form pairs and groups. That is where the problems begin for Olivia – none of her friends ask her to join their acts! Olivia realizes at that moment that while she has lots of different friends and friend groups, she does not have a best friend. It just hasn’t ‘clicked’ for her.

This dilemma throws her into a panic and she begins to feel isolated and alone. She turns to her family. Her mom wants to fix things for her, which is never a good idea (in a kid’s mind). Help really comes in the form of her rather hip aunt, who has Olivia over for an aunt/niece sleepover and shows Olivia videos of old television variety shows. Aunt Molly also shares her school talent show experience, when she did a solo act and felt great about it. Olivia studies the old shows, thinks about her aunt’s youthful experience and determines the best route for herself.

She returns to school and, as Mr. Florez notes student acts, announces to the class and her teacher that she wants to host the fifth grade Variety Show. Her classmates embrace this idea and her family supports her as she takes on this challenge. When asked how she even thought of the idea of hosting, Olivia replied that it jut “clicked”. In the following days, she and her friends reconnect and she happily moves between friend groups, sometimes introducing them to each other with fun results. The story ends on the night of the Variety Show as Olivia takes the stage and the curtain opens.

This is a wonderful book with a story that many kids of this age can relate to on many levels. Friendships are difficult to navigate and understand and the feeling of isolation can happen on any given moment for the tween crowd. Olivia’s emotions are clearly visible as she grapples with this problem – dreaming about it, thinking about it and talking about it with her family. The beauty of the solution is that is comes from herself. Her aunt gives her some information and Olivia works through it all and is confident in her plan and place.

Illustrations are pen and ink with muted colors and the characters are diverse. Fans of Smile and Best Friends will love this first book in the series.