THE GIRL IN BETWEEN, by Sarah Carroll

The story: A homeless girl and her mother are squatters in an abandoned mill, stuck there while Ma battles her demons: drugs and booze. The girl must stay invisible, because if she's seen, The Authorities will take her away, put her in foster care, and she'll never see her mother again. But there's no way to stop the wrecking ball that's about to destroy their magic castle, and somehow, the girl has to help her mother move on.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG; Sexual content (implied) PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG-13; Magic & the occult PG; GLBT content G; adult themes (homelessness, begging, substance abuse) PG-13; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: I know that everyone else loved this, but I thought all the homelessness, drug use, cold, and hunger were a beating, right up until the last chapter. That's when it turned out that the girl (nameless) really IS invisible. It was enough to make me think about going back and re-reading some of the chapters to see if hints were dropped along the way that I missed, but then I thought...nah. Don't care enough to bother. This book might appeal to kids who are either homeless, or who have a well-developed sense of empathy, but in general I found it to be one of those stories that grown-ups will like better than kids do.