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.

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