The third book in Anna Staniszewski's award-winning middle school book series: The Dirt Diaries! A gripping double identity book and delicious tale of gossip and its consequences, even if it's about someone else... The Gossip File: Chandra lets little kids pee in the pool. Melody stole $ from the café register. Ava isn't who she says she is… Ava is cool. Ava is confident. Ava is really Rachel Lee who is lying her butt off. Rachel is visiting her dad at a resort in sunny Florida and is ready for two weeks of relaxing poolside, trips to Disney World―and NOT scrubbing toilets. Until her dad's new girlfriend, Ellie, begs Rachel to help out at her short-staffed café. That's when Rachel kinda sorta adopts a new identity to impress the cool, older girls who work there. Ava is everything Rachel wishes she could be. But when the girls ask "Ava" to help add juicy resort gossip to their file, Rachel's not sure what to do...especially when one of the entries is a secret about Ellie. A perfect way to talk about kindness and the power words have over others. Praise for award-winning Author Anna Staniszewski's The Dirt Diary series: "Staniszewski keeps the focus on comedy… Gentle fun laced with equally gentle wisdom."― Kirkus "Rachel's situation and feelings ring true...This realistic read is likely to appeal to middle schoolers and reluctant readers."― School Library Journal "I LOVED it...sweet, sensitive, and delicious!"―Erin Dionne, author of Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies The Dirt Diaries Series is the perfect… book series for girls aged 9-12 - growing up book for girls - summer reading book for reluctant readers - preteen gift for girls "The Gossip File is a fast paced and fun written story." ― Marjolein Reads "Staniszewski keeps her fans laughing and cringing as Rachel once again stumbles upon juicy gossip, the kind that maybe should be told. Another solid hit for middle-grade readers."" ― Booklist Anna Staniszewski lives outside of Boston with her husband and an adorably crazy dog. She was named the Boston Public Library's 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Discovery Award. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and not cleaning her house. Visit her at www.annastan.com. Chapter 1 "Rachel, how many rocks did you put in this suitcase?" Mom asks as she drags my luggage out of the back of her dented minivan. Evan, my too-cute-for-words boyfriend, rushes over to help ease the ancient bag to the curb in front of the airport terminal. The suitcase used to belong to Mom, back when she still traveled to places other than Connecticut to visit her sister. "Here you go, Booger Crap," Evan says as he brings the bag over. I'm so used to his goofy nickname for me that I don't even roll my eyes this time. Instead, I give him a shy smile and say, "Thanks." When Evan grins back at me, his green eyes don't twinkle like they usually do. We're both pretending that me being away for two weeks won't be a big deal, but it stinks that I'm leaving when things are finally good between us. Plus, I think he's been gearing up to kiss me all week. But I guess that will have to wait until I get back from visiting my dad in Florida. I seriously doubt my first kiss is going to happen at the airport in front of my mom. Oh my goldfish. What if that's what Evan's planning? My mom will never let me live that down! My hands are shaking as I grab the suitcase and hurry through the parking garage. I don't slow down until I get to the airline check-in counter. I've been trying not to freak out about the idea of traveling by myself, but seeing all those strangers with suitcases makes my nerves go into overdrive. With my luck, I'll accidentally wind up in Omaha instead of Orlando. Mom must notice that my eyes are about to pop out of my head because she puts her hand on my shoulder and asks, "Are you sure about this?" I push the ball of fear as far down into my stomach as I can. I've been dreaming of going to Disney World with my dad since I was six years old. I can't pass that up just because I'm scared of flying alone. "Yup. Chances are I won't die in a fiery plane crash, right?" Mom shakes her head. "Is that supposed to be comforting? By the way, I checked the weather report in Florida this morning. It's going to be near a hundred degrees." She wipes her forehead as if the very thought is making her sweat. "It was ninety here the other day," I point out. "Besides, I'm sure Dad has air-conditioning." Okay, Florida in the summer might not be ideal, but with school starting in a few weeks, it'll be nice to finally get a vacation. I've spent all summer working for my mom's cleaning business, taking pastry classes, and organizing baking competitions (not to mention pulling pranks on people and making a general mess out of everything). It'll be a relief to hang out by the pool, relax, and spend some much-needed quality time with my dad. Evan hangs back while my mom and I go check in at th