With gentle wit and an uncanny sensitivity, Fogelin captures the fragility of life's certainties in this moving novel of an adolescent girl's struggles to find her way in the world.
For Roxanne, there are two things in life she can count on: her beloved grandmother and her weekend job at the flea market. But outside this fragile weekend world, she's lost. A so-so student with few aspirations for higher education, she feels out of place at school. And who is she anyway? Her teenage mother left when she was only three months old and her father's identity is a mystery. But then her cousin brings home a girlfriend from college who has very different ideas about the way life works. And when Roxanne discovers her mother's teenage diary, she finds some painful but important answers to the unsolved questions of her past and the possibilities for a different future.
"A Best of 2003 for Young Readers: Dead-on dialogue and strong, complex characters."
-The Washington Post
"Fogelin captures the fragility of this unique family with a lot of humor and great characters..."
-School Library Journal
"Fogelin captures the fragility of this unique family with a lot of humor and great characters... the story has universal themes of coming of age and searching for one's identity. Reluctant readers will like the short, fast-paced chapters." --School Library Journal
"Americans tend to avoid discussing class differences, and this charming story about a girl who lives in a trailer with her chain-smoking, obese grandmother is something out of the ordinary... The lines between the classes become somewhat blurred and we understand that life is pretty much that way, and that a loving, close family is a treasure whatever circumstances they are living in." --Kliatt
"Delivered in a wry voice that swings from laugh-out-loud funny to wrenching sadness, Rox's narrative is neither sentimental nor condescending, and details of place, people, and class conflict emerge in plain poetic imagery..." --Booklist
"A Best of 2003 for Young Readers: Dead-on dialogue and strong, complex characters." --The Washington Post
"...a richly drawn story of human dynamics, offering both support for people as they are and hope for their growth." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Leveling Information
Accelerated Reader
AR Quiz: 73520
AR Reading Level: 4.1
AR Points: 9
F&P (Fountas & Pinnell)
F&P Level: W
F&P Grade: 6
Reading Counts
Reading Counts Level: 3.5
Reading Counts Points: 15
Reading Counts Interest Level: 6-8
Updates Available: Updates Available: Update available for Picture Gallery Module