Leslie Bulion
Children's Book Author

Nadie and Nick have been best friends forever, but in fourth grade they discover a new, unwritten rule: boys and girls aren't friends. When Summer Crawford moves to town she is quick to show that she doesn't care much about those kinds of rules. She cheerily tries to outdo trouble-making Owen in his quest to be the Room 20 gross-out king, and sets in motion a chain of events that change everything for Nadie and Nick--and not for the better. Just when Nadie starts to think that boys and girls really can't be friends, some inline skates, spray paint, grocery crates and a potato change everything, once again.
(adapted from www.Peachtree-online.com)

From Kirkus Reviews:
Now that she is in fourth grade, Nadie must follow the “boys and girls cannot be friends” rule and publicly ignore her best friend, neighbor and class newspaper co-editor Nick. Striving to fit in with the girls in her class and grade, Nadie follows the new rules by eating at the designated girls’ lunch table and secretly maintaining her friendship with Nick only when they are within the boundaries of their street and respective homes. But the arrival of Summer, an offbeat new student who is unafraid to initiate her own brand of casual boy/girl exchanges, upsets the balance. Suddenly the rules of good student behavior, separate boy/girl tenets and, in particular, Nadie’s carefully managed friendship with Nick are threatened. When Summer’s teasing results in Nadie’s false accusation for a whole host of “zoofeteria” bad behavior, Nadie must weigh the significance of real friendship against immediate self-interest. Readers will empathize with Nadie’s thought-provoking predicaments and her personal responses as she struggles through the transition from lower to upper elementary school. (Fiction. 8-10)

From School Library Journal:
Gr 3–5—In this novel, Nadie is caught up in feelings and social situations that will seem real to kids her age. Ever since she entered the upper elementary school in fourth grade, it seems as though the rules have changed: boys and girls can't be friends—at least in public. Nadie and Nick have been neighbors and best friends forever, but now they have to hide their relationship to avoid being teased. On top of that, new girl Summer comes on the scene and causes more tension between the genders as she becomes the class clown's nemesis as well as Nadie's pal. But Summer's antics and competition with Owen can be trouble, and Nadie's guilt by association causes a chain of troublesome events that make her yearn for the way things used to be. Readers will empathize with the protagonist and may see themselves in her as she struggles with peer relationships. Refreshingly, Nadie develops her own "rules" that include being mature enough to stick to and form her own friendships in the end, bringing together her entire classroom. Adults include an inspiring teacher and a supportive, at-home father.—Jennifer Cogan, Bucks County Free Library, Doylestown, PA