FINALLY by Wendy Mass

Do you remember when your parents used to tell you "wait until you're 12" or "waiting until you're 16"?  You were, no doubt, just like Rory Swenson and created a list of things you would "someday" be able to do or have.  FINALLY, that day has arrived for Rory.

Being 12, means being on the edge of her teen years.  Rory can hardly sleep the night before.  She's thinking of her list - getting a cell phone, getting her ears pierced, getting a pet, and getting to go to her first boy/girl party.  Those are just a few of the things she is excited about finally being about to do.

Let's take the cell phone.  She can't believe it's true when she finds the box that looks like it's her dream come true.  Imagine her disappointment when she opens it to find a cell phone, but not the one she's dreamed of.  Instead, this is an ugly thing with two buttons.  Count them!  Just two buttons!  One to call home and the other to call 911.  WT*!  Leave it to her parents to give her her second present which is a box filled with cell phone brochures and calling plans.  They confess the two button phone is some sort of sick joke, and then tell her since the phone will be her responsibility, she must investigate all the choices and make a presentation about which are the best and then they'll make the purchase.

Next, imagine Rory getting her cell phone and managing to lose it in 15 minutes before they've even left the mall where it was purchased.  Yep, that's how being 12 begins for Rory.

FINALLY is one girl's experience as she reaches the magical age where everything seems possible.  Whatever can go wrong, does.  There are incidents involving leg shaving, make-up, being home alone, and contact lenses, just to name a few.  Author Wendy Mass captures the frustration of pre-teens as they reach the magical time that allows them to begin experiencing tidbits from the grown-up world.  FINALLY will have readers laughing, nodding in agreement, and sighing in sympathy as they follow Rory's tale of reaching 12.