RETURNABLE GIRL
by Pamela Lowell
A convincing portrait of a troubled 13-year-old girl lifts this above the level of mere entertainment. Ronnie’s drug-addicted and alcoholic mom abandoned her at age 11, and Ronnie has been kicked out of numerous foster homes ever since. She’s found a good home with her latest foster mom who wants to adopt her, but Ronnie can’t let go of her dream of reuniting with her real mother. Ronnie acts out violently, steals and lies, but worries that she’s abandoning an equally troubled friend as she strives for acceptance with the “in” crowd at her middle school. As a family therapist, Lowell knows something about unhappy adolescents. Her expertise allows her to depict not only Ronnie’s growing understanding of her situation and those of her friends, but also the reality of her life, all through Ronnie’s eyes. Readable and enlightening for girls and their parents. (Fiction. YA)