Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don't have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be...

"Sixth-grader Merci Suarez doesn't have a big house or take fancy vacations like the other kids at Seaward Pines Academy. She's a scholarship student who lives with her extended family in three little houses they call Las Casitas. But everything feels different this year -- and not just at school, where queen bee Edna Santos has set her sights on Merci's school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Michael Clark. At home, Merci's beloved grandfather, Lolo, has...