My Life as a Rhombus - Varian Johnson

This novel is about a girl who is half-way through her senior year of high school. She is uber-smart, and she is waiting to hear about a scholarship to Georgia Tech. She is especially good at math and tutors middle school students at a center in her free time. She refuses to tutor high school students, until one day her boss doesn’t give her a choice. She is “forced” to tutor the most popular girl at school, Sarah. Rhonda immediately recognizes what Sarah is going through - nausea, tiredness, craving ice cream in December. Without thinking about it, Rhonda shares her experience with Sarah, and a friendship is born.

 This novel is a touching story about an unlikely friendship formed over an unlikely bond. It is very well written, though, due to the subject matter, I would not recommend it for middle school students. High school students, I think, would enjoy it.

The novel deals with teenage pregnancy, abortion, sex, and alcohol.