Olive's entry about a desire to be Martha's friend, to see the ocean, and to become a writer propels Martha into a journey from childhood to
the brink of adolescence.
Henig's Julian is a bright but peculiar young boy on
the brink of adolescence who is from a sheltered, unconventional background and is now thrust into the outside world.
Nine - year - old children are on
the brink of adolescence.