On your mark . . . get set . . . go finish your science project?

All Gianna Zales wants is to compete at the cross-country finals, but there’s something standing in her way--a science project. She has less than a week to collect and document twenty-five leaves, and she’ll lose her spot on the team if she can’t pull it off. With a forgetful grandmother, a hearse-driving father, a mean-girl running rival, and new feelings toward her best friend, Gianna wishes life would just leave her alone to finish the project. Can Gianna Z. get the stroke of brilliance she needs to make it all work out?

Winner of the 2010 E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers
Bank Street College of Education Best Books of 2009
IndieBound Fall 2009 Kids IndieNext List
Kids’ IndieNext Pick
New Hampshire Great Stone Face Award Nominee
Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award Nominee
Missouri Mark Twain Award Nominee
New York Charlotte Award Nominee