A PLACE TO CALL HOME

Ever since their mother disappeared, Anna, 15, has been minding Mandy, 5, and the baby, Casey. It's not the first time their mother has left, but this time she's gone for good, and Anna's first priority is for the three children to stay together. At first she avoids social services but when Casey gets sick, Anna has to go for help. The authorities find a triple placement for them, but the foster parents are slick and mean. Desperate for something better, Anna takes a bus trip to Mississippi in search of the family she's never known and answers to shadowy questions about her mother's past. The bittersweet truth deepens Anna's love for her siblings, giving her the strength to stop running and to know when to let go. She is a richly drawn, thoroughly credible character. Koller (The Primrose Way, 1992, etc.) keeps readers riveted to Anna's plight through every turn of a beautifully moving story. (Fiction. 12+)