Awards and Honors2009 Schneider Family Book Award, Winner, Middle School; 2009 ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults; Book Sense Children’s Picks – Spring 2008 | 2008 School Library Journal Best Books, Fiction
"When the judge decided my sisters should live with Dwight, I knew it was going to change my life." After the divorce, Addie's half-sisters moved upstate with their natural father, Dwight, and Addie moved to a trailer home-parked off a busy city intersection- with her increasingly unstable mother. But Addie still remembers-and longs for-a "normal" family life. "Normal is being able to count on certain things. Good things. And it's having everyone together-just because they belong that way." Winner of the 2009 Schneider Family Book Award.
Summary Dwight has divorced Mommers, and the courts have granted him sole custody of the Littles. Because Mommers used the mortgage money from Dwight on an investment scheme and the bank has foreclosed on the house, she and Addie have nowhere to live except Dwight’s old trailer. Addie’s visits with Dwight and the Littles give her brief glimpses of a normal life, which makes returning to the trailer with Mommers that much harder. Then Mommers begins leaving Addie alone for longer and longer periods as she pursues a new “business plan” with someone named Pete. Supported by her surrogate family at the minimart, Addie tries to cope with her hard lot by accepting the bad in her life and looking for hope where she can find it.
Topics Divorce. Family. New homes. Minimarts. Vocabulary. Child custody. Music. Love of learning. Separation. Music tryouts. New friends. Heroes. Cooking. Hamsters. Cancer. Chemotherapy. Job interviews. Learning disabilities. Child abandonment. Halloween. Bipolar disorder. Thanksgiving. Mailorder business. Renovations. Returning to reality. First periods. Solos. Outfits. Rehearsals. Being forgotten. Guilt. Shame. Letting others down. Cutting ties. Responsibility. Gifts. Selfishness. Normalcy. Christmas. Pregnancy. Dyslexia. Snow removal. Concerned adults. Hiding the truth. Bank cards. Fire. Social workers. Death. Grief. Adoption. Home.
SRC Level 3.300000
SRC Points 14.000000
Lexile 570L
Trim Size 5" x 7 3/8"
Language English
JLG Release Date Apr 2008
Minimum grade 5
Maximum grade 7
Reading level Elementary, Middle
Format Print
Upper Elementary/Middle Plus (Grades 5-7)
Upper Elementary/Middle Plus
Upper Elementary/Middle Plus (Grades 5-7)
For Grades 5-7
A great way to ensure more titles for your middle-grade readers-with 14 additional popular B titles arriving at your door every year.