Penelope Kingston wants to be perfect. And most of the time she is good, sensible and calm. But nobody is perfect, and sometimes Penelope is bossy, angry and frustrated. It's like – and this is very weird – there are two Penelopes inside her. She is never quite sure who is going to be stronger on any given day. There's one part of Penelope's life that is definitely not perfect: she doesn't have a best friend. It was absolutely time that Penelope got a best friend of her own. It makes Penelope very anxious whenever they have to get into pairs at school. Everyone knows that being partners with the teacher means you are the odd one out. Penelope hopes that the new girl at school might be the one. But it's not easy finding a best friend, and it's not easy trying to be perfect. Sometimes, the best idea is to forget to try!

Penelope Kingston is determined not to feel anxious about school camp, even though her last camp was a disaster. Penelope cried (only tears not sobs) when they had to climb a ridiculously steep and frightening hill. Penelope would never forgive herself if she did that again. To make sure she has a practically perfect camp this year, Penelope has written a Very Private List of rules. And what's rule number one? No crying. Penelope is a whole year older now. And, more importantly, she has her very own best friend to bunk with. This year is going to be totally different.

Penelope Kingston is absolutely certain that her stall at the school fete will be a huge success. She and Oscar are in charge of the lucky jars, and Penelope wants to break last year’s record. This is even more important because Penelope’s dad is coming to the fete, and she and her brother don’t see him very much these days. Penelope could nearly burst with excitement! If she can make her dad proud, maybe he’ll want to spend every weekend with Penelope and Harry. She just has to make sure everything goes perfectly . . .