SOLVED. YA Coming of age fiction. 2 friends (both approx 13, one named Marilyn) go to a lake every summer with their families. There is jealousy over looks and boys this summer. Read approx 1998. Book was used and written in the 80s or 90s. [s]

[Cici]

2 friends (approx 13 years old, one named Marilyn) go to the same lake every summer with their families. Marilyn was always chubby, but this summer she has a more womanly body. The other friend becomes jealous (she has a thin body) because the boys seem more interested in Marilyn. They have a strained friendship that summer. Marilyn keeps trying to have a fun summer with her friend like they did when they were younger. The other girl eventually tells her why she is upset and Marilyn assures her that she is not interested in the boy she likes and that she has had a difficult time having more attention than she is used to. In the end, they are friends again. They go to an end of the summer party/dance and the other girl ends up with the boy she likes.

[Rainbowheart]

Name doesn't match, but I Was a 98-Pound Duckling?

[Ayshe]

Or 13 And Loving It?

[Cici]

It’s neither one of those unfortunately.
I think the other girl may have had a short or simple name like Sam. They spent time with 2 or more boys that I believe they also grew up seeing at the lake every summer. I believe Marilyn had dark wavy hair with tanned skin. She was quieter and more shy. The other girl had a “mousy” color hair. She may have been fair with freckles.

[Rainbowheart]

Are you positive about the name Marilyn?

Save the Loonies and Mismatched Summer also have similarities.

[Cici]

Marilyn was definitely one name. The other girl I’m not sure about.

[Rainbowheart]

Does anything on the Friendship Between Girls list look familiar?

[Cici]

I just looked through the whole list and it’s not any of those either. I have a feeling I’ll never find this book. I’ve done tons of internet searches over the years with no luck.

[Ayshe]

Cici wrote: "It’s neither one of those unfortunately.
..."
Are you certain it's not 13 and Loving It? Older books don't have much information online sometimes, I just added description to the goodreads record. You can search for keywords in the Google books record or borrow and read on archive.org (after creating an account if you don't have one already).

[Rainbowheart]

Some quotes for Ayshe's suggestion!

Dark-haired Marilyn Prince has been shorter than me and pretty chubby for as long as I've known her, and that's since we were both about six years old. Marilyn is my summertime best friend, the way Patti is my wintertime best friend.

A girl moved toward us through the rain, stepping gracefully over puddles. Wavy, long black hair was protected by a big, see-through plastic umbrella. White shorts showed off her tanned legs. A bright red top accented her curvy figure. She climbed the stairs to the porch and smiled hesitantly. She watched us staring at her. Slowly, she folded the umbrella. She wiggled the fingers of a perfectly manicured hand in a shy little wave.

It was Marilyn all right. But what a changed Marilyn! How could anyone change so much in just a few months? I wondered.

[Cici]

Ayshe and Rainbowheart yes that is it! It’s been at least 15 years since I’ve read it. The cover didn’t look familiar and I’ve not been able to find a description before! Thank you so much!!

[Rainbowheart]

Yay, glad it's solved. Good find, Ayshe!

[Cici]

Yes thank you! I’ve already ordered a copy 💜