Shady has Arrived

Shady Has Arrived
By Shirley Staggs

Abigail Sanders is about to discover that starting over isn't always a bad thing. After Abigail's family moves to a new city, she leaves behind everything familiar and begins a new chapter at Jefferson Junior High. Starting a new school is intimidating enough, but Abigail quickly discovers that fitting in isn't as easy as simply walking through the front doors. Abigail is a young girl with Down syndrome, a big personality, a good heart, and one thing she absolutely refuses to do-pretend to be someone she's not. She says what she thinks, and sometimes her honesty gets her into trouble. But Abigail also has a remarkable talent for coming up with the perfect comeback when someone needs a little help standing up for themselves. Before long, the school's wealthy and popular girls discover Abigail's gift for throwing shade. They want her advice on what to say to the people they don't like, and Abigail suddenly finds herself welcomed into the very crowd she never expected to join. But popularity changes when Abigail realizes that some of the girls are using their status to embarrass and put down students who don't have expensive clothes, money, or the right friends. That's when Abigail decides to do things her way. Instead of helping the popular girls tear others down, she begins lifting the girls everyone else has ignored. With confidence, humor, friendship, and a little bit of well-placed shade, Abigail helps the unpopular girls discover that they don't need to change themselves to belong. Soon, the girls who were once overlooked are becoming impossible to ignore. But Abigail's biggest lesson may be that being popular isn't about standing above everyone else-it's about making sure nobody feels like they're standing alone.
Funny, heartwarming, and full of unforgettable personalities, Shady Has Arrived is a story about friendship, confidence, acceptance, and discovering the power of being exactly who you are.

Because when Abigail Sanders walks into school, she doesn't follow the crowd. She changes it.