First published 1993
Laura watches her mother pack their belongings again, another move to another small town where they might finally stay put. At twelve, Laura has learned to read the signs when her mother grows restless, when the phone calls come at odd hours, when whispered conversations stop abruptly. Their new home brings new neighbors, new schools, and new questions Laura isn't supposed to ask. Her mother works double shifts and smiles too brightly when strangers ask about Laura's father. Laura makes friends cautiously, knowing they might disappear from her life as quickly as the last ones did. She practices cartwheels in the backyard, spinning through the air with the kind of freedom that feels impossible in every other part of her life. When the past catches up to them in unexpected ways, Laura must choose between the safety of silence and the risk of demanding the truth. This is a story about the weight children carry when adults cannot face their own choices.
Genres: fiction, coming-of-age, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Small Town
Period: 20th-century
201 pages · Paperback · Graywolf Press
Content warnings: child-abuse, domestic-violence