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Sixteen-year-old Dylan has lived on the streets ever since his mother kicked him out when she realized that he might interfere with her snagging another husband. Although new to the streets, lonely, and vulnerable, Dylan is smart enough to stay away from pimps and people who prey on street kids. Jenna, a street kid he's attracted to, isn't so lucky or strong, and though he keeps trying to help her, she just gets pulled deeper and deeper into an abusive and self-destructive spiral. But after a series of misfortunes, Dylan begins to get sucked into the same spiral, and he has to depend on his strength, determination, and the help of others to try to free himself and gain back his independance and power.

This is a powerful, painful book that doesn't shy away from the truth of life on the streets—with just enough scraps of positivity to keep the reader reading and rooting for Dylan. Dylan and Jenna especially are strong characters, and there are enough kind people and moments to help balance out the painful ones. There are also a few unbelievable moments that may briefly draw the reader out of the book—but the book has such high stakes and good writing that the reader will most likely keep diving in again to see what happens.

At times the characters feel distant—as if they're observing and reporting on what's happening to them, instead of living it—but for the most part these characters feel very real. The many street characters are differentiated by unique mannerisms, styles of dress, and ways of being that make them memorable, but there are a few times when it seems unlikely that the same characters would show up in every situation.

This is a gripping, moving book that knows pain inside out. It is both gritty and hopeful. Well worth reading.

-Added Aug 2004

Fifteen-year-old Chan ran away from home, and now she lives on the streets. She moves from abandoned building to abandoned building, always trying to find someplace warm, someplace safe to spend the nights. Her most familiar state is to be cold, hungry, dirty—and desperately needing money. Often she's afraid—afraid of some of the other runaways, afraid of rough boys who look at her as she passes by, afraid of police raids that close down the illegal places she holes up in with other runaways.

She's often lonely, too—but she didn't realize how lonely she was until Elizabeth showed up. Elizabeth is eleven years old, and looks even younger—much too young to be on the streets, alone. The other runaways that Chan is staying with don't want to let Elizabeth stay; they're afraid of the attention she'll bring. But Chan takes Elizabeth under her wing—and starts to care about others.

When a police raid occurs where they're staying, Chan and Elizabeth barely escape. Chan becomes determined to get them off the streets, and finds a way to rent a small, illegal room for the two of them to stay. But through a series of misunderstandings, Chan is once again on her own...until she tries to reach out to the father who loved her.

The poverty and horrible conditions that Chan and her friends have to live under are vivid and grittingly real. If you think running away from home is a romantic notion, this book will dispel that myth within seconds.

This book is a gritty, emotional, and often insightful tale of life on the streets. The characters are well-rounded, the setting is so real you can almost touch it, and the writing is almost lyrical at times.

This taut story falls apart a little in the last fifth of the book, and at times chapters are not as well thought out as the rest of the book. Although Chan's choice to reach out to her father was touching, her motivation and steps that took her to that choice were not entirely believable. However, this book is still an engaging read.

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-Added April 29, 2003

Fourteen-year-old Sabie and her mother have always been close. Her mother has taught her to be independant, to question rules, and to distrust Social Services. Sabie's never gone to a real school, and rarely lived in a house; instead, she and her mother have lived in various rooms and even on the street. Sabie knows she'll have to be independant and street tough, because her mother is dying of cancer, and her father, who divorced her mother years ago, wants nothing to do with her.

When her mother dies, Sabice tries to cope alone on the street. She meets an old woman, and for a while they become like family to each other—family Sabie desperately wants—until the woman is wounded in a fire, and Sabie is on her own again, painfully alone. Sabie comes under the care of the Social Services—and then finds out that her father has been searching for her for years, trying to gain custody of her—and he wants her to live with him and his new family. But Sabie must draw on stregth and courage to learn to trust again.

Sensitive and powerful, this is a gripping story about loneliness, friendship, forgiveness, and courage. A great read.

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Sixteen-year-old Mary wants to stay in one town long enough to finish high school, but ever since her father lost his job, the family has been traveling around the country in an RV on what her father calls "an extended vacation." But extended vacations don't last for years, and aren't supposed to include being so poor that the family has to sell things they've stolen.

Mary is upset about the ways her parents act—her father swindelling people, her mother stealing, neither of them caring about the children getting an education or learning to read. Mary acts as a kind of mother to her younger siblings, but they don't appreciate it, and Mary wishes she could leave this kind of life behind.

As their money situation becomes more desperate, Mary's father starts to become delusional and unable to cope. Mary's passive mother is no help. Mary is the only reasonable voice in the family. A sudden and violent act is the only way Mary is able to save her family.

This is a strong, intense book, packed with tension and emotion. The characters are believable and real, and Mary is a strong voice on her own. The ending may have wrapped up a little too easily or quickly, but the book is a powerful one.

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Rayona's irresponsible mother leaves her alone all night more and more frequently, her disapperances getting longer until they stretch into days, and Rayona is left without food or money. When her smooth-talking, womanizing father, who she rarely sees, makes one of his surprise visits, he decides she needs a place to stay—so he gets an ex-girlfriend of his, a social worker, to put her in a placement as a favor to him. Rayona's mother is Indian, her father Black, so when the social worker asks her what kind of family she wants to live with, Rayona says the thing she thinks will bug her father the most—a white family.

But Rayona doesn't feel she fits in with the family she's placed with, and refuses to stay there. Several placements later, Rayona's father has no choice but to send her to his mother's place. Her father rarely ever talks about his family, and Rayona has never met them. When she arrives, she discovers what he has been hiding—his mother and aunts are all white! Rayona grows close to the kind, older women who give her the first stability she's ever had, and when it's time to leave, Rayona finds it hard.

Tightly written, this book has depth, insightfulness, and sensitivity. Rayona is a very real character, as are her parents, extended family, and the people she meets, and the book is heartwarming and moving. A beautiful story, sensitively told.

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Dicey's mother woke her and her brothers and sisters up in the middle of the night, and bundled them all into the car, telling them they were heading for their Great-Aunt Cilla's house in Bridgeport. But on the way there, Dicey's mother went into the mall for something—and never came out.

Dicey, the oldest of the children, was left with eleven dollars and some sandwiches in a bag, knowing she had to get her siblings and herself to her aunt's, or be stuck in a foster home and have the family broken up. So they began the long trek on foot, and Dicey had to be very resourceful to get enough food for them all as the long days passed.

But they made it. They finally got to Bridgeport—and then they discover that the great aunt has died, and her daughter doesn't really want them there, although she does her Christian best. It's not a good place for the kids; Dicey can see her brothers and sisters getting worse and worse. So they begin their journey again, this time for a grandmother that has never spoken to them.

This is a gripping story about finding people who love you, and about survival and courage. Dicey is a courageous, tenacious hero—and she faces all the challenges, including the ones that come from her siblings, with determination and love. This story will touch you deeply, and you'll want to come back to it again and again. (There are also other books that follow this one that include Dicey and her family.)

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