A Los Angeles girl whose mother goes to jail is taken in hand by the city's foster-care program and the novel describes her experience in a series of homes, each a new adventure. A first novel.

"When Dahlia decided to become a foster mother, she had a few caveats: no howling newborns, no delinquents, and above all, no girls. A harrowing incident years before left her a virtual prisoner in her own home, forever wary of the heartbreak and limitation of a girl's life. Eleven years after they began fostering, Dahlia and Louie consider their family complete, but when the social worker begs them to take a young girl who has been horrifically abused...

"Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakota people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn't return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato - where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies...

A fearless novel about a lost boy in search of his identity-who happens to be a time-traveling mass murderer Flight, the third novel by National Book Award winner Sherman Alexie, is both shattering and full of laughter. The story of Zits, an orphaned Indian boy, resonates profoundly in a country scarred by violence. Alexie works his trademark magic to turn Zits's experiences into a fable about identity, race, and American history. In a gutsy, challenging...

Lindsay and Kerrie Ann are sisters who have known hardship from an early age. Without guidance from their neglectful mother, their only aid came from an unlikely source, a retired exotic dancer by the name of Miss Honi Love. When the girls' mother was sent to prison, Miss Honi tried unsuccessfully to save them from being separated and sent into foster care. Thirty years later, Lindsay is still trying to reconnect with her sister. The owner of a bookstore...

"A debut novel about an odd assortment of residents living in a crumbling apartment building in the post-industrial Midwest"-- The automobile industry has abandoned Vacca Vale, Indiana, leaving the residents behind, too. In a run-down apartment building on the edge of town, commonly known as the Rabbit Hutch, a number of people now reside quietly, looking for ways to live in a dying city. Apartment C2 is lonely and detached. C6 is aging and stuck....

The Boss Man has an unexpected motive in destroying Mike Wingate, who's worked his way up from the bottom to become a successful home contractor in Lost Hills, California. To protect his family and himself, Mike, who was raised in a foster home, summons his only friend from those days, the formidable Shep, who has grown up to be a career criminal of considerable skill.

"Steve was only a toddler when his babysitter jotted down these fateful words: 'This little boy doesn't have a chance in the world.' But, despite years of being abandoned, neglected, and forgotten, Steve discovers an unexpected strength to endure and a fierce determination to find his real family and to create a new life for himself. A stirring account of courage, hope, and victory, A Chance in the World is the extraordinary story of what is possible...

After losing his mother, a young boy is sent to a foster home with other orphans his age where he begins to learn the meaning of trust and true love.

ER nurse Macy Wynn learned essential, gritty lessons in the California foster care system: Land on your feet and trust no one. She's finally located the fellow foster child she loves like a sister, but the girl's in deep trouble. Macy's determined to help, no matter what it takes. Her motto is to "make it happen" in any situation life throws at her--even when she butts heads with an idealistic cop. Deputy Fletcher Holt believes in a higher plan, the...