It's Up to You Samantha by Darlene Kwarta

It was at the end of fifth grade that Samantha decided she couldn’t go through life being her mother’s clone anymore. It was time for a new, improved Sam, and the timing seemed perfect. She was going into a new school in the fall. She was changing, growing, and trying to be the kind of person she thought she wanted to be—popular.
In sixth grade we live with her trying out for cheerleadering, and failing; running for homeroom representative on the Student Council, but forgetting to enter her name in the race; renting a “sexy tiger” costume for the Halloween Dance, along with many other girls; trying out for a lead in the school play, without success; and trying to come up with a winning idea in the contest for using the school’s Winter Carnival funds. Samantha’s quest for popularity leaves her little time for family interaction or old friends. She is, however, aware of the work they are doing at the Shelter. And since popularity has not yet swept her away, she begins to help out again.
In time for Christmas, Samantha determines to promote using the Carnival funds for the Shelter rather than for her original idea of the more popular class trip. She reasons that “using the money to help others seemed like the only right thing to do.” Although her idea doesn’t win the contest, Samantha is a winner because she returns to the center of her caring family and a real values system. In the end she wins the true admiration of teachers and fellow students, and begins to value her classmates for what they really are.

Darlene Kwarta is a resident of Illinois.