A new middle-grade heroine is born! The first story in an extraordinary new series by a New York Times best-selling author. Ten-year-old Julia Gillian knows everything about her quirky neighbors, her Minneapolis neighborhood, even the inscrutable "claw machine" in the back of the corner hardware store. The one thing Julia Gillian doesn't know is how the book she's reading is going to end. It doesn't seem as if it's going to have a happy ending, and that scares her. But Julia learns a little something about sometimes you just have to work through it. And though bad things do happen sometimes, having good friends and family around you makes life a bit less scary - and much more fun.

Where is the joy? Julia Gillian is sure to find it! This is the second story in an extraordinary series by a New York Times bestselling author. So far, fifth grade at Lake Harriet Elementary School is not exactly a thing of joy. Julia Gillian's best friend, Bonwit Keller, is keeping a secret from her. Trumpet lessons with Mr. Mixler, her favorite teacher, are much harder than expected. And most upsetting of all, the kind lunch lady has been replaced by a tyrant known as the Dumpling Man. Where is the joy? Amidst all this, Julia Gillian starts keeping secrets of her own—secrets that feel an awful lot like lies. To set things right, she will have to learn a little bit about friendship and honesty.

In this stunning conclusion to the JULIA GILLIAN trilogy, Julia Gillian discovers the hardest part of being human: to love what is mortal. Sixth grade is proving to be less than dreamy: Julia Gillian's new homeroom teacher is serious about school work and has the class "controlling for variables." Julia Gillian has been paired for the Reading Extravaganza with Fergus Cannon, whose distaste for reading rivals her own. Worst of all, her beloved dog, Bigfoot, is getting old. Soon, Julia Gillian will learn that no matter how hard she tries to control for variables and keep her lifelong companion safe, she cannot prevent the inevitable. Luckily, her bounty of steadfast friends and family see her through the toughest time of her life.