by Kaye Gibbons
First published 2005
Ellen Foster is fifteen now and lives with her new mother in what should be a stable home. But she still feels out of place in the world around her. The county fair becomes her one important ritual, something she clings to as she tries to figure out who she is. Her best friend Stuart insists he wants to marry her, and she goes along with his plans to keep him happy. She also looks out for Starletta, her old neighbor who needs protection. Ellen writes poetry and sells it to earn money for camp, a place for gifted students where she hopes to belong. She moves between holding onto pieces of her childhood and pushing toward something bigger. Ellen survived terrible things before finding this new family, and that strength shaped her into someone smart enough to save herself. But intelligence and survival skills cannot solve the deeper question of how to feel at home in her own life.
Genres: literary-fiction, coming-of-age, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: County Fair
Period: Adolescence
304 pages · Hardcover · Random House Large Print
Content warnings: abuse, child-abuse