Picked this book up at a thrift store and didn't realize it was juvenile level, but that's not a big problem since I've read several other books at that level. Nice story which is tied up neatly in the end. Younger readers might like it even better than I did, but it still rates 4 stars from me. ( )

Evangeline Brown tugs at your heartstrings from page one. Her defense mechanisms to keep everyone at a distance is to be the tough, not one bit feminine, “Don’t care what anyone thinks” girl called Eddie. She doesn’t make friends, she sits in the back of the class to go unnoticed, until a new teacher and a new student come to school about the same time. Eddie ends up in the front of the class with the new boy, Farrell right behind her. Farrell’s father and Eddie’s father are drinking partners, so they learn soon that they suffer some of the same neglect, however, Eddie has never been without both parents like Farrell has. When the new teacher wants to visit every student in their home, Eddie and Farrell think they will be removed from the only family they have because their homes are not well kept and their fathers are drunk a lot of the time.

Eddie and Farrell decide it might be better to run away than to be sent to foster care with unknown consequences. However, after a close call with a real criminal, Eddie convinces Farrell that running is not the solution to most problems.

Michele Davis has captured the voices of today’s kids and the feelings that many of them try so hard to hide. There are many students who can benefit from seeing the risks in jumping to conclusions or trying to work through adult problems without adult assistance. ( )