Books published by publisher NY: Harcourt (2003)

Why do kids have to follow so many rules? Everyone in Grody's life gets to tell him what to do: his mother, his father, his sister, his teacher. . . . He's tired of it! Determined to take matters into his own hands, Grody comes up with his own set of rules. Clean socks? Who needs 'em? Use a napkin? What's the point? Beloved author-illustrator Nicole Rubel has created a character who will have kids howling--and maybe, just maybe, seeing the reason behind some of those awful rules grown-ups like so much.

The close-knit residents of Hackett Island have never seen anyone quite like Lani Garver. Everything about this new kid is a mystery: Where does Lani come from? How old is Lani? And most disturbing of all, is Lani a boy or a girl? Claire McKenzie isn't up to tormenting Lani with the rest of the high school elite. Instead, she befriends the intriguing outcast. But within days of Lani's arrival, tragedy strikes and Claire must deal with shattered friendships and personal demons--and the possibility that angels may exist on earth.