Drawing favorable comparisons to the literary stylings of Carson McCullers and Kaye Gibbons, Jayne Pupek's debut is hailed by Library Journal as a 'wrenching, stunning, and pitch-perfect novel.' Eleven-year-old Ellie Sanders is forced to grow up quickly when her pregnant mother develops health problems and her father's attentions become diverted by a teenage produce peddler. To escape, Ellie creates a secret world of her own, where life still seems normal.