About This Book

Haley's excited about turning 13, but her teenage years start off with a thud when, shortly after her birthday, her mother checks herself into the hospital for severe depression. Her older brother, Otis, is busy with his job, and Haley tries to keep her mind off the family problems with her own job, helping a music teacher clean up his backyard garden. As Haley's family life becomes more unstable, it's her work and her growing friendship with her employer that sustains her. When Otis gets arrested for selling stolen goods and a social worker takes Haley into a group home, it's her employer to whom she turns to help her pick up the pieces.