After spending all of fifth grade studying popularity together, Julie and Lydia are finally ready to put their hard-earned lessons to use in junior high. But before they can, tragedy strikes: Lydia's mom gets a job in London for six whole months! Before Lydia can say "fancy a cup of tea?" she's thrust into a new school, where she earns a reputation as "the Violent American." Meanwhile Julie's stuck navigating the cliques of American junior high on her own, where she is adopted by a group of troublemaking eighth graders known as the Bichons. The two best friends will have to learn to keep in touch and stand on their own, assisted as always by their trusty notebook. Amy Ignatow's signature sense of humor is on full display in this satisfying sequel.

Amy Ignatow is a cartoonist and the author of The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang. She is a graduate of Moore College of Art and Design and lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Mark, and their cat, Mathilda, who is mostly very terrible.