Description

Upper Middle Grade / Lower YA Best for ages 11-15
Many adults love this book as well.

How can Akna and her two sisters help Mama get well and save her family if they are in foster care? Rule 1: Don’t get comfortable there.

With the help of her ancestors, Akna Sales has used her powers of S.A.D.—Strength And Determination—to keep her family together since her beloved grandparents died two years ago. The day the social worker takes Akna and her two sisters to a foster home, all her plans for helping Mama get well and saving her family are upended. It seems that calling on her ancestors to enhance those powers is not working any more.

Although every foster kid living with the Bohns at Mariposa Lane has problems, they’ve somehow created a resilient, loving family life Akna never could have imagined. But the more secure her situation becomes, the more she fears her real family will be lost.

Despite her resistance, Akna discovers how to weave the complex legacy of her past into opportunities for a promising future. With the help of a caring teacher, a new friend at school, Akna’s own determination, and the love of her foster family, she learns how to once again welcome the goodness in life, even when some things will always feel broken.

For Teachers:

This book is perfect for discussions of friendships, identity, grief, taking risks, overcoming challenges, honesty, and resiliency.