THE PERFECT PLACE, by Teresa E. Harris

The story: Treasure's dad has taken off again, and this time her mom's going to go looking for him. Treasure and her younger sister are dumped off at ancient Great-Aunt Grace's without any say in the matter. What are they going to do in this backwoods Virginia town that still manages to have its share of bullies, thieves, and bossy old aunts? And more important...will their parents really come back for them, or are they going to be stuck with "Gag" forever?

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence G; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (abandonment by parents, bullying) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: I liked this story a lot, although Treasure's sassy mouth and Tiffany's bratty tantrums frequently made me identify more with Aunt Grace than with the main characters. Aunt Grace is somewhat reminiscent of Richard Peck's Grandma Dowdel, and she manages to make sure things turn out right for the kids without managing to clean her house to do it.