The Next Great Paulie Fink, by Ali Benjamin. Little, Brown and Company. Hachette. 2019. $22.49 ages 10 and up

" She looks surprised, and I realize this is the first time I've raised my hand at Mitchell. Part of me wants to sit on my hands and shut up, but Mags flashes me the tiniest smile. "Well, so let's say you're one of those lucky ones who happens to get remembered," I say. "The thing is, it's not even you that people are remembering. Not really." Mags looks like she's trying hard to understand, but even I'm not entirely sure what I'm trying to say."

Caitlyn is not prepared for a move during the summer. When her mother makes the announcement that she has accepted a new job, Caitlyn is angry and very upset. It's seventh grade and she's been looking forward to being with her friends. When she arrives at Mitchell School on her first day, she realizes it is going to be even worse than she ever thought it could be.

There is only class of each grade at the small school; the seventh graders have mostly been together since kindergarten. They are now the senior class, also called The Originals. That means a couple of things for Caitlyn, First, they are in charge of the school's goat herd under the supervision of their science teacher. Then, she is paired up with one of the kindergartners to act as mentor and supporter as they begin to navigate their new environment.

None of her new classmates bear any resemblance to her former classmates. Everyone at Mitchell displays their eccentricities with pride. Most noticeably, they are unhappy to begin their senior year without Paulie Fink, a former classmate and legend who has not returned.  Paulie stood alone as the lead prankster for the school, and he is greatly missed. After much talk bemoaning his absence, the senior class decides that they need to find a new Paulie Fink.

As the new, and only impartial kid in the class, it is Caitlyn's job to organize the contest and judge the events. As that process begins and moves forward, Caitlyn begins to understand her classmates: their worries, the things that hold great importance for them, and the allure of Paulie Fink himself. Through her own narration, interviews that she does with her classmates and others, and the Ancient Greece assignment given each of them by their English teacher Mags, Caitlyn learns that she has a place in her new school.

The voices are strong, the perspectives different, the social atmosphere an unexpected surprise for Caitlyn, and the changes enormous - that is what makes this such a very unique and uplifting middle grade read.