I know how they felt! SPOILERS!

When I read Nikki and Deja:  Birthday Blues I had to laugh at the ending.  I knew just how Deja felt when the rain came down!
First of all, I love this book and I love this series.
This is the second one in the series and I have started the third.
The deal is this, Deja's birthday is coming up.  She loves her birthday and she has been running around, like she does every year, talking about her party and planning a great time.
She has a nemesis. however.  In Antonia.  Antonia knows that Deja's party is going to be Saturday afternoon.  So what does Antonia do? She has a "just because" party at the same time on the same day and she hands out her invitations before Deja does!  So now, all of the girls, in all of the third grade classes are going to Antonia's party which will have an outdoor roller skating rink and a lot of outdoor games and fun.
Deja was just planning and indoor game party.
But then...it rains!  And even though it is raining on Deja's party, that means it is also raining on Antonia's party, too!  And so Deja and Nikki are super happy and dancing singing the It's Raining, It's Pouring song!
All of the girls show up, except for Antonia.  And because Deja isn't a Junie B. or an Ivy or a Bean, she plans to call Antonia and invite her anyway.
This is a great, great series.  And I love it!  There is more in here, though.  Like Deja wondering if her dad will come.  She hasn't seen him in many years.  And Deja getting some advice from some older folks in her neighborhood and well, this is just an all-round great book.
I felt like Deja once because since 2009 at my work we have been having a car cruise in the summer.  All of a sudden another local entity, less than 6 miles away, in the same industry, had a car cruise on that very same night.  Theirs was a fund-raiser, ours was not.  But still.
I was so sad and mad and hurt and just angry.
And then...it rained.
And oh...how we danced.
Now it had never rained before on our car cruise day.  And it hasn't rained since.  Because I am not as kind as Deja, for years after I would promote our car cruise as "often imitated, never duplicated."  Yes, I even did that this year.
The thing is, the other entity never did have another car cruise.  So why do I still do that?  I need to let it go! Like Deja!
Great book.  And next year...I will leave off the imitated/duplicated.  
Maybe.