In this outstanding first novel, two 14-year old girls become best friends by forming a common bond: shoplifting. The two girls, both named Julie, haunt New York's boutiques and department stores, becoming more and more expert at stealing clothes. Julie P., the narrator, idolizes her friend but feels ever increasing fear and guilt over their stealing. Julie P. finally begins seeing a counselor as she struggles to quit stealing, then confesses to her mother. At last, she tells her friend that she won't continue stealing, whereupon Julie B. drops her cold. Almost immediately, however, Julie P. attracts the boy she idolizes. But when that new relationship also turns rocky, she wonders if she can rekindle her relationship with her lost friend. Pollack's writing keeps the story light enough for teen audiences, yet races along with real suspense as she convincingly explores the depths of adolescence. (Fiction. YA)

The subtitle says it all. In her debut novel, Pollack has wrapped three juicy, sure-to-appeal elements into an appealing package, complete with a pink, ultrafeminine cover. It's the early 1980s, and Julie Prodsky, a native New Yorker, is a freshman at the famed High School of the Performing Arts. On her first day, she meets very cool, very friendly Julie Braverman, who introduces her to the fine points of "getting" (shoplifting). Soon, the girls' closets are full of purloined goods. Then Julie P. suffers pangs of remorse and goes to a therapist to help her deal with her kleptomania, which triggers a blowup with Julie B. First love comes in the form of a handsome junior, who, predictably, does narrator Julie P. wrong. The rather formulaic story is firmly anchored by references to the popular culture of the time, including lengthy descriptions of clothes, but readers won't be deterred by the firm sense of style or place as the plot is nearly irresistible. - Debbie Carton