The story is of a young lady who has moved around all of her life because of her mother’s fear of attachment to any man in a love relationship.  She lives by a very strict standard of rules of conduct at home, at school and in public.  Willa is her name.  She longs to have a father and a life that stays in one spot.

        Finally, Willa seems on the verge of having her wishes come true…till one act of secret benevolence undoes all of the progress her mother has made in allowing someone special to capture her attention.  Willa shows us how important it is to connect to others in our lives and how the power of love is what makes everything else in life bearable.  Growing up is hard to do when you are on the outside looking in.

          This book would make a wonderful birthday gift or a gift acknowledging the thought, “I know you are growing up” kind of gift to someone special in your life.

             This book was published by Scholastic Inc; copyrighted in 2005  by arrangement with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.  Check out Scholastic here:  http://www.scholastic.com

       The subject of all three books is death and dying which is not what i would call a pick me up sort of subject…but…it is a part of life.  Because it is a part of life, it is nice to see the subject illuminated in a way that shows that a person has choices; some control over the way they die, when they have a disease/illness that is diagnosed when time allows them a period of time to prepare.  The idea of quality of life over quantity of life is strengthened  when you have read the stories; it puts things into perspective.

        Even though dying is not a happy topic…i like the fact that Lurlene chooses to show each individual in the stories with personality and strength.  She doesn’t gloss over the fact that if given the “ultimate” choice…they would choose to live; but, it does show degrees of individual dignity.

        The books are moving…so make sure that you aren’t going through an emotional trauma when you read it …it just might push you to curl up in your bed all weekend.