Branded by a middle school humiliation, fourteen-year-old Wilbur needs help from friends Alex, Fabrizio, and elderly neighbor Sal to impress Charlie, a French girl whose school band is doing an exchange with his.

Toronto. Ninth-grader Wilbur Nuez-Knopf can't live down a deeply humiliating moment from two years ago that's followed him to high school. His good friend Alex has stuck by him, but Alex has started dating Fabrizio and doesn't have much time to hang out. Luckily, Wil can still confide in his elderly neighbor, Sal, but he longs to have a special someone of his own. When the school band does an exchange with students from Paris, a girl named Charlie captures Wilbur's heart. But his feelings aren't reciprocated. Alex, Fabrizio, and Sal join forces to build Wil's confidence in the hope that he can impress Charlie when they go to Paris. -- adapted from jacket

Ages 12 and up.,Wendy Lamb Books.

Grades 7-9.,Wendy Lamb Books.