Teenreads.com -- IN BETWEEN: A Katie Parker Production, Act 1 by Jenny B. Jones

Books by
Jenny B. Jones

IN BETWEEN
A Katie Parker Production, Act 1

ON THE LOOSE
A Katie Parker Production, Act 2

IN BETWEEN
A Katie Parker Production, Act 1
Jenny B. Jones
Th1nk Books
Fiction
ISBN-10: 1600060986
ISBN-13: 9781600060984
347 pages

Katie Parker is a ward of the state of Texas and recent resident at the Sunny Haven Home for Girls ever since her mom got caught selling drugs and was sent to prison. Katie, the almost-orphan high schooler with lightning-quick wit and a semi-cynical attitude, had just gotten comfortable (sort of) with the other Sunny Haven girls --- even the one who would covertly display her knife collection --- when Mrs. Iola Smartly, the director, tells Katie she is leaving for In Between, Texas. If the name isn't bad enough, Katie isn't too thrilled to be expected to make yet another adjustment in her young but turbulent life experience. Still, Mrs. Smartly believes that Pastor James and Millie Scott are exactly what Katie needs.

So Katie becomes foster child to the Scotts, who bend over backwards to make her feel welcome and wanted. Not quite sure about this whole foster kid scene, Katie decides to play aloof until she is sure that the Scotts don't want her for some devious reason. With her customary in-your-face style, Katie tests the waters by dressing Goth and watching for the Scotts’ reactions. Puzzled at getting no response, Katie tries a few other "out there" antics to get the Scotts to become angry, reject her, or send her back to Sunny Haven --- but nothing works. Completely to her surprise, Katie slowly finds herself wanting to trust this couple and depend upon them. As she does, wonderful changes begin to unfold.

As Katie makes some silly mistakes in judgment, the Scotts offer forgiveness while expecting her to deal with the consequences --- just like in a "real" home. And living with a church pastor and his wife isn't all that clear-cut. It seems there is an unspoken mystery about the Scotts’ adult daughter, Amy, that has everyone hush-hushing about it. Millie's mom Maxine, the wannabe teenager grandmother with the lashing tongue (and a heart of gold), keeps Katie on her guard --- until they share a secret and become unwilling allies.

All in all, Katie's high school experience is so heartwrenchingly real and still so comical that readers will relish this page-turner if only to get Katie's turnabout take on everyday life as an American teen as seen through the eyes of one who has been through too much for her young years.

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

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