A court date has been set for the lawsuit involving a Highland Park Middle School eighth grader who published a scandalous novel that mentions classmates by their actual names.

The family of the student who wrote the novel is being sued by a parent of a child who was allegedly defamed in the book by being written about in "unfathomable, graphic scenes," and the trial is scheduled to commence at 9 a.m. Oct. 30.

If the two parties cannot reach an agreement during a mediation beforehand, the court case, which is set to be a jury trial, will likely be the talk of the town next school year.

Click here for background information about the novel and the lawsuit.