When eight-and-a-half-year-old Mallory McDonald's parents tell her that they are moving, she's mad—really mad! It's not fair! How can they make her move away from Mary Ann, her best friend in the whole wide world? Who will she paint her toenails with, tell secrets to, and make scrapbooks with? When Mallory arrives at her new house on Wish Pond Road, things are terrible. Her room is too small and the girl next door is mean. But Joey lives next door, too. Even though he doesn't paint his toe...

Summer is over and that can only mean one thing for eight-year-old Mallory McDonald (like the restaurant, but no relation)—she has to go back to school. But not just any school, a new school with all new kids in it. To make matters worse, her mom is going, too! She's the new music teacher, and Mallory can't think of anything that could possibly be worse—until her first day.