Free Period

Helen and Gracie are besties, doing everything together, although Helen is a math savant and Gracie puts her heart and soul into creative baking. They are pranking their way through the end of eighth grade and are obsessed with the period problems. When one of their stinky pranks goes terribly wrong, trapping them under the bleachers while their skunk bomb goes off, they’re summoned by the principal. They’re assigned to join the Community Action Club headed by Helen’s nemesis, the popular and perfect Madison. Surprisingly, they all have a common cause — to get sanitary products to those who need them. With no help from the school board or PTA, it’s up to the girls and their friends.

Ali Terese has written an interesting story that will strike a chord with a lot of middle-grade students, girls more than boys. She gives voice to Gracie and Helen as they tell the story in alternating chapters. There is a lot of humor in the book, some over the top. Quite a bit of it is bathroom humor, perfect for the age. Themes of friendship and family carry the story forward. Young girls will certainly relate to all that goes on in this book.