Young Adult Revisited

Lila can't stop bragging about the trip her dad recently took to Hawaii for business. Not only did he promise her that he would take her when she turned 10, but he also brought her back a necklace made from seashells that you can't find anywhere else in the world. Hating that her friend is the center of attention, Jessica keeps claiming that she sees monsters in the school yard and on the road. Elizabeth eventually reminds her of the boy who cried wolf. The kids are all excited because they're taking a field trip to a water preserve. While all the other kids wore practical and sensible clothing like shorts and running shoes, Jessica refused to wear anything but her new outfit, which consists of black patent leather shoes with slick soles and a blue sailor outfit. This limits what she can do and leads to her walking way slower than everyone else. While looking at a pool of water, Jessica sees a figure with long hair and big eyes that then disappears. She runs...

River Heights must be like one of the top cities in the world or something. The last book had the big Olympic type event and this one hosts an international chess tournament. Even though most players stay in the same hotel downtown, Donna, one of the top players, is staying at the Drew house with her twin sister Danitra. Their father is close friends with Carson and when he and his wife couldn't fly out, Carson offered to look after them. Donna's biggest competitor is Greta, a young woman from Germany. Her sister, Anna, is already in River Heights as an exchange student, but her brother, Eric, and trainer, Esther, come with her. Esther approaches Donna and tells her to play up the rivalry between the two because it will make the tournament more exciting. Donna puts out that she just wants to play. She also shows Nancy this super fancy chess set she has, which belonged to her grandfather. During the first tournament, we also meet some other people. Donna'...