Now in paperback, a moving novel of loss and resilience, told in a
voice that is "sometimes humorous, at times heartbreaking, and always
authentic" (School Library Journal).
Twelve-year-old May lives with her grandmother, who is depressed about
the absence of May's mother, and her father, who works long hours and is
almost never around. Due to her circumstance and her resentment over
having to live in a low-income neighborhood, May often finds herself
picking fights and getting into trouble.
But when May is caught defacing her least favorite teacher's classroom,
she has a choice: expulsion or one-on-one summer school with the teacher
she most detests. Begrudgingly, May chooses summer school and ultimately
learns that her teacher has a secret past--and might just hold the key
to answers no one else will give May about her mother.