The story: When big brother Gage moves Ari out of their foster mother's house, she thinks he's got an apartment all lined up where they can live together. Little does she know they'll spend the coming weeks surfing friends' couches, eating at soup kitchens, and falling further and further down on their luck. Ari doesn't want to admit it--but they're homeless...and how can you work to achieve all your dreams when you're wondering where your next meal is coming from?
June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence G; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; substance abuse PG; magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (being orphaned, homelessness) PG; overall rating PG.
Liz's comments: I liked this quiet story a lot, but it is clearly aimed at an ES audience (Ari is a 5th grader hoping to get into a special GT school) and thus, most MS kids--particularly boys--aren't going to touch it with a ten-foot pole. Possibly, however, kids who are in this circumstance themselves will want to read this one to identify with a character in the same situation as theirs, and younger readers will root for Ari and be glad when she makes her way out of a very difficult situation by making her own set of difficult choices.
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