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A Sixth Grader's Study of Happiness

Twelve year old Rose J. Smith is the I-Central narrator of this novella. She explains why she chose to learn about happiness from a scientific viewpoint after watching a YouTube of Judy Garland singing Come On Get Happy in the 1930’s. She tells her mother that the lyrics are too simplistic and she is determined to study happiness as a scientist might for her semester long project in sixth grade advanced English. Her teacher, Mrs. Stanfield, requires four books or articles as sources, along with one interview. Rose prefers to work alone, but her teacher teams her up with a boy, Stephen Mallow, who was gone for a few days because of the death of his grandmother in another city. This leads to an unusual friendship between the two and their families. The tale turns darker in later chapters.