Brodie’s parents and brother expect him to step up for Team Family, even when Team Family has no intention of returning the favor. Joanie is left to take a city bus for the first time with her impossibly cranky grandmother and learns to stand up for what she wants. Alone in a foreign country, without money, shelter or papers, Liberi steals an expensive purse from a tourist and then figures out what to do with his feelings of guilt. Bastien, the foster kid no one wants, discovers his own inner strength when a wildfire ravages the town. And Kelsey and his brother find themselves robbing graves in the middle of the night, but for the best possible reason.
When the grownups turn their backs, the kids in these stories find a way to go forward. Sometimes it takes a little magical thinking. Sometimes a small act of bravery. Sometimes extending a hand to someone else. But always a realization that there is somewhere to go, if you pay attention, take action and refuse to give into the dark.
Key Text Features
biographical information
epigraph
short stories
DEBORAH ELLIS is the author of The Breadwinner, which has been published in 30 languages and made into an Oscar-nominated film. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Deborah has donated more than $2 million in royalties to organizations such as Right to Learn Afghanistan, Mental Health Without Borders and UNHCR. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario.