So far, fifth grade at Lake Harriet Elementary School is not exactly a thing of joy. Julia Gillian's best friend, Bonwit Keller, is keeping a secret from her. Trumpet lessons with Mr. Mixler, her favorite teacher, are much harder than expected. And most upsetting of all, the kind lunch lady has been replaced by a tyrant known as the Dumpling Man. Where is the joy? Amidst all this, Julia Gillian starts keeping secrets of her own--secrets that feel an awful lot like lies. To set things right, she will have to learn a little bit about friendship and honesty. 对于茱莉亚来说，目前在哈瑞特湖小学的五年级生活真的是糟透了。茱莉亚最好的朋友博威特有个秘密一直瞒着她，她最喜欢的老师米克斯乐老师的小号课也实在是太难了。最让她不开心的是善良的餐厅厨师阿姨竟然换成了一个凶巴巴的人称饺子先生的家伙！原本快乐的小学生活去哪了？！茱莉亚要如何解决这些令人不愉快的事件，重新找回快乐呢？ 作者艾莉森·麦克吉（Alison McGhee）创作过非常多获奖的成人书和青少年图书。她目前与家人一起居住在明尼苏达州。