FROM OUR EDITORS

Welcome to the Generation Gap. If you haven't figured it already, the title is instant-message lingo for "ta-ta for now." ttfn is the sequel to ttyl, a word-of-mouth bestseller written entirely in instant messages. This novel tracks Maddie, Zoe, and Angela as they navigate through the difficult waters of 11th grade. A fabulous encore for the Winsome Threesome.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Sequel to the New York Times best-seller ttylThis sequel to the breakout bestseller, ttyl (a novel told entirely in instant messages), follows Maddie, Zoe, and Angela through their next year in high school, 11th grade. There's trouble and lots of IMs ahead for the Winsome Threesome. Angela has just found out that her family is moving to El Cerrito, California, and she seriously doesn't know how she'll survive without her best friends. Maddie makes some really bad moves with Clive, a pot-smoking hipster who wants to be "friends with benefits." And Zoe finds herself falling for Doug, the sweet poet who has had a crush on Angela forever, a crush that Angela has come to count on. Lauren Myracle has concocted another funny, touching look at the rocky road of real friendship--bumpy, nutty, and marshmallow-sweet.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Jean Boreen, Ph.D.

The sequel to Myracle's ttyl picks up with Angela, Zoe and Maddie in their junior year of high school, still the three girls against the world, still IMing their thoughts and reactions to each other. But the joy of their junior year is short-lived when Angela finds out that her father will be moving the family to California. While Angela's troubles initially threaten to overshadow the others, Maddie finds herself relying on a great deal of bravado in her relationship with Chive, who callously compromises her health and safety through drugs and casual sex. Zoe, always the responsible one in the trio, takes a job and finds herself interested in Doug, who was previously interested in Angela. As Zoe tries to keep her new relationship from Angela, and Maddie tries to get Zoe to loosen up, Angela finds that being the new girl in a new school is no fun. Through it all, e-mail and instant messaging keep the girls in contact--although one has to wonder how they actually have time to get into their various troubles, considering how much time they spend messaging each other. But teen-age girls will easily relate to the main characters and cheer them on as they move towards their happy (?) endings. 2006, Amulet Books, Ages 13 to 16.

School Library Journal

Gr 9-11-Best friends Angela, Maddie, and Zoe are back for their junior year in this sequel to ttyl (Abrams, 2004), also written entirely in text-message format. Zoe has recently started working with Angela's former crush, Doug, at Kidding Around, a daycare. Zoe is not sure how to tell her that she likes Doug, and just when she gets up the courage, Angela drops the bomb that her family is moving to California. Maddie is in love with Clive, who doesn't mind spending time with her and even occasionally making out, but he's in love with someone else. He is witty and charming and DEEP. He is also a pothead. In her efforts to keep him interested, Maddie begins smoking pot. As her friends put up protests, she gets defensive and tension ensues. Angela attempts to make new friends, but misses her old ones fiercely. She also misses having a romantic interest. As a result, on New Year's Eve, she drunk dials Doug. He breaks the news that he is now with Zoe, which exacerbates her loneliness and feelings of isolation. Confrontations result but the three friends resolve their differences. This is definitive chick-lit, a comfortable read that explores sexuality, drugs, depression, and learning about oneself. Myracle does an excellent job of developing the characters and a plot that is easy to get into and fun to follow.-Emily Garrett, Naaman Forest High School, Garland, TX Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Angela, Maddy and Zoe are totally BFF-best friends forever-and tell each other everything in their constant instant-message conversations. Well, maybe not everything. Zoe doesn't tell Angela that she's hooked up with Doug, who's had a crush on Angela for ages. Zoe and Angela won't tell Maddy how worried they are that she's smoking pot to impress a boy. When Angela's family moves to California, she's heartbroken at being taken from everyone she knows. The friends try to stay in touch using IM, but Maddy's obsessed with her new stoner friends and Angela and Zoe are fighting over Doug. As the three resolve their differences, they confront sex, drugs and the miserable difficulties of social life at 16. The well-crafted IM-lingo of the prose is richly saturated with contemporary references (googlewhacking, The OC, the Taliban) which, while they might prevent the novel from aging well, keep it perfectly placed in the moment. A funny and moving take on friendship and adolescence. (Fiction. 12-15)$150,000 ad/promo