Dimensions
125 x 196 x 15mm
'It might seem like a pretty small change, getting a new girl in the class. But this is the way I look at it: it's too late to stop Mum and Dad splitting up. It's too late to stop Mum selling our old house that I've lived in since I was about three minutes old. It's too late to stop Dad moving in with his disgusting new girlfriend. But that's it. I've had enough. I'm not going to put up with any more changes, not even small ones. Ever! That's why I've declared my life a Change-Free Zone!'
Nicky Bell has had enough change to last her a lifetime. So when new girl Megan Stoat arrives at school, Nicky and her friends decide to treat her so horribly that she'll go back to wherever she came from. With the help of Nicky's pet rat Monty, it looks as if it will be easy. In a couple of days, Megan will be begging her parents to take her away.
But Nicky hasn't counted on Megan's stepmother, the beautiful, terrifying Mrs Stoat. When she hears about what has happened to Megan, she calls Monty a disgusting, filthy vermin and wants to have him destroyed - until she sees the little rat. Then she suddenly changes her mind, and becomes so charming that Nicky's friends think she's wonderful. Nicky is the only one who doesn't trust her.
Soon, both the Change-Free Zone and Nicky's friendships are falling apart. Desperate to put things back the way they should be, Nicky sets out to discover the truth about Mrs Stoat. Why is she using a false name? Why does she go ballistic over one lost envelope? Why is she so interested in Monty? And can Nicky find the answers in time to save the little rat's life?
