by Doris Gates
First published 1968
Janey Larkin has never stayed anywhere long enough to call it home. Her father chases work from town to town, and the family packs up whenever opportunity calls. Janey dreams of putting down roots and making real friends instead of always being the new girl. When her mother falls ill, the Larkins face their biggest crisis yet. Without rent money, they risk losing the closest thing to a permanent home Janey has ever known. She makes a desperate decision to offer up her most precious possession: a delicate blue willow plate passed down from her great-great-grandmother. The plate represents everything Janey values about family and belonging. Giving it up feels like losing a piece of herself. But sometimes the greatest sacrifices open doors to unexpected joy. Janey discovers that home might not be about the things you own or even the places you live.
Genres: fiction, family-life, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: America
Period: 20th-Century
154 pages · Paperback · Viking Press