Review:

Payback on Poplar Lane by Margaret Mincks is so cute. Rachel is a very shy middle school girl that lives next door to Peter Gronkowski. Peter Gronkowski is a self proclaimed entrepreneur that starts a new business almost every week.  When Peter starts up a new fortune telling gig, he needs to hire an unpaid intern. Rachel applies for the job. Peter takes things too far and so Rachel ends up becoming Peter's competitor rather than his intern. This is definitely a fun story about values and friendship.

I found myself enjoying this story because it showed how competitor friends could be and how that can turn into a mess. Rachel's and Peter's parents ended up handling the escalations in the competition quite well as the kids kept trying to create the better business to earn the most money. Rachel just wants people to notice her and Peter wants everyone to think he is the most successful business whiz on the planet. I really loved how these kids learned the importance of friendship and admitting where they were wrong. I think this is a wonderful book for middle graders and it is quite fun.