Farah rocks

Farah's little brother is in the hospital with a heart problem that needs surgery, so her parents send sixth-grader Farah off to stay with her grandmother in a retirement condo in Florida; Sitti Fayrouz does not speak much English, has a lot of rules, and does not understand Farah's interest in geology, so Farah is not happy with the move--but despite being the only child in the community, Farah finds that the people are nice, and despite getting off to a bad start (she accidentally dumped a soda on his lap) she forms a friendship with Dr. Fisher, who shares her interest in science.

Feeling guilty over the house fire she might have started, Farah Hajjar channels her energy into starting a creative writing club at the Magnet Academy where she is a new sixth-grader.

Fifth-grader Farah Hajjar and her best friend Allie Liu are hoping to go to the Magnet Academy for their middle school years, instead of Harbortown Elementary/Middle School; but when a new girl Dana Denver starts tormenting Farah and her younger brother, Samir, she decides she can not leave Samir to face the bully alone, especially since the adults and even Allie do not seem to be taking the matter seriously--so Farah comes up with a plan, one which involves lying to those closest to her.

Eleven-year-old Farah spends much of her summer trying to earn money to attend an enrichment camp at her new school, but someone is sabotaging her by taking down her fliers. Includes glossaries and instructions for growing crystals.