The Girls of Skylark Lane

National Book Award Winner Robin Benway's debut middle grade novel is Babysitters Club meets Sandlot when twin sisters join a ragtag neighborhood girls softball team at a time when growing up could mean growing apart. 

Aggie and Jac might be twin sisters, but lately they haven’t felt the same about anything. While Jac is excited about their move to Los Angeles and a chance to seem cool and mysterious, Aggie is worried her new locker won’t open, Jac could make new friends without her, and her friends from home will move on, leaving her all alone.

When the first day at school ends with an invite to join the neighborhood softball team, Aggie jumps at the chance to meet the other girls, even if she has to drag Jac along. Aggie is relieved to learn that each girl is dealing with their own problems and discovers that by being vulnerable, she's able to create strong friendships.

Jac’s interest in the softball team might have more to do with the captain’s older brother. But as Jac’s crush grows she worries that it’s just one more way she and Aggie have become different. And is it wrong if Jac wants to feel different from Aggie sometimes, even if there’s no one else she'd rather have for her twin sister?

Jac and Aggie try to hold on to their sisterhood even as life throws the biggest curveball of all: growing up.

From award-winning author Robin Benway comes a fun and heartwarming middle grade novel about friendships, family, and discovering the person that you’re meant to be.

Robin Benway is a National Book Award–winning and New York Times bestselling author of nine novels for young people, including Far from the Tree, Audrey, Wait!, the AKA series, and Emmy & Oliver. Her books have received numerous awards and recognition, including the PEN America Literary Award, the Blue Ribbon Award from the Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults, and ALA’s Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. In addition, her novels have received starred reviews from BookPage, Kirkus Reviews, ALA Booklist, and Publishers Weekly and have been published in more than twenty-five countries. Her sixth novel, Far from the Tree, won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the PEN America Award and was named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR, PBS, Entertainment Weekly, and the Boston Globe. In addition to her fictional work, her nonfiction work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Bustle, Elle, and more. Her newest book, The Girls of Skylark Lane, will be in stores in Fall 2024.

Robin grew up in Orange County, California, attended NYU, where she was a recipient of the Seth Barkas Prize for Creative Writing, and is a graduate of UCLA. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Hudson.