Barbara Dee Books

Forget the next best magic bullet to solve your weight, fitness and health issues. Instead, This revised and updated edition of the bestselling The Kaizen Method to Living a Healthy Lifestyle includes proven, timeless advice as well as the most current research guidelines. Author Barbara Dee’s experience in nutrition science and as a dietitian working directly with patients in a medical setting combined with her years as a Life Coach give readers the most credible, understandable strategy for healthy living. “Kaizen” is a proven method to make small, continuous improvements, and The Kaizen Method to Living a Healthy Lifestyle shows how to apply this to effortlessly changing eating, exercise, and other habits that can support optimum wellness. Early readers noted that this is not like any other book in the health category. “What good does it do to have knowledge and tools if I don’t have the key to access these? After reading Barbara Dee’s book, I finally have the key. It’s a simple approach, but reading The Kaizen Method to Living a Healthy Lifestyle opened the door I needed to enjoy a lifestyle that has healthy habits at its core. I no longer feel like I need to just have more discipline, try harder, or hire a trainer. I’m taking baby steps but feel like I’ve taken a huge step just by applying the kaizen method.” —Carrie D., Tampa, Florida

Twelve-year-old Mattie wrestles with her crush on Gemma as they participate in their school production of Romeo and Juliet in what School Library Journal calls “a fine choice for middle school libraries in need of accessible LGBTQ stories.” Twelve-year-old Mattie is thrilled when she learns the eighth grade play will be Romeo and Juliet. In particular, she can’t wait to share the stage with Gemma Braithwaite, who has been cast as Juliet. Gemma is brilliant, pretty—and British!—and Mattie starts to see her as more than just a friend. But Mattie has also had an on/off crush on her classmate Elijah since, well, forever. Is it possible to have a crush on both boys AND girls? If that wasn’t enough to deal with, things offstage are beginning to resemble their own Shakespearean drama: the cast is fighting, and the boy playing Romeo may not be up to the challenge of the role. And due to a last-minute emergency, Mattie is asked to step up and take over the leading role—opposite Gemma’s Juliet—just as Mattie’s secret crush starts to become not-so-secret in her group of friends. In this funny, sweet, and clever look at the complicated nature of middle school romance, Mattie learns how to become a lead player in her own life.

In this hopeful novel, cancer survivor Norah Levy returns to middle school after two years of leukemia treatment. Facing challenges with classmates, including her best friend Harper and a new crush, Griffin, Norah struggles to share her past. She must find a way to explain her journey and redefine her 'normal.'

Twelve-year-old Cassie has a lot to cope with when her father moves "out of the picture." Her mom's constantly working overtime, her teenage sister's going AWOL, and her little brother seriously needs attention. It's up to Cassie to prevent total chaos at home -- or so she thinks.She can't control everything, though. At school Cassie's two "best" friends are turning nasty, and a cute boy is sending mixed signals. And then there's Mr. Mullaney -- the weirdest, hardest English teacher in the seventh grade -- who hates everything she does. Since Mr. Mullaney isn't even reading her brilliant work, Cassie starts submitting journal entries like "A Virtual Tour of My Insanely Messy Desk." But her sassy humor isn't winning her any friends or helping her ailing grades. What's a girl to do when life gets totally insane?Barbara Dee has created a witty, poignant portrait of an intense, honest, feisty girl who is ferociously funny and only too human.