In the summer before seventh grade, 12-year-old Iris Diaz-Pinkowitz goes up and down the fire escape outside her new New York City apartment, becoming an integral part of the lives of her human and animal neighbors.

Booktalk draft: Twelve-year-old Iris needs to buy a bra. Seriously. Ever since Daisy in apartment 4A said "Tell your mother to buy you a brassiere." But Iris' mother won't let Iris out of the apartment building alone without her or her older brother Freddy. Iris is stuck at home with her mom's to-do lists: Clean mirrors, vacuum kitchen, practice typing. Sighh. But then life gets a lot more interesting when Iris crawls out on the fire escape looking for a big orange cat. SHe meets her neighbors: the tattooed man, Daisy and her grandkids, Yolanda and her swearing parrot, Will in the wheelchair and the Cat Lady. Iris even decides to start her own business running errands for her busy neighbors.

4Q - great story, writing is uneven but characters are terrific
4P - appealing themes ( )