This book shows what it's like to be abandoned, to have no constant company but the hope that your mom will come back. The girl in this book struggles to adjust and change, until she gets to a home were she's accepted for who she is and loved.
4Q; 5P; Cover Art: Okay
This book is best suited for highschoolers.
It was selected because it's about something that really happens.
Grade (of reviewer): 9th
(HR-AHS-NC)

I wanted to start this review by looking up the definition of the word Mother. There were multiple definitions, but the one that I liked best was "maternal tenderness or affection". Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I had never had my children. I know that there are many people out there who would do anything to be able to have and/or raise a child, and others who try but somehow fail - this is one of those stories.

Meet Veronica Hartman. At 13 she has been in and out of 9 foster homes, 10 if you count the time she stayed with her Aunt and Uncle - that's where she went after her mother packed up her two brothers and fled for Alaska telling Ronnie "I need you to listen. We can't take you with us. There's not enough room." Shaken down to her very core, Ronnie has been trying everything in order to get reunited with her family. Riddled with behavioral problems from lying to stealing to anger issues, her case worker has turned to Alison as a last resort. Alison is a therapist and is willing to take Ronnie in and give her one last chance to prove that she can change her ways.

Although Ronnie and Alison have a rocky beginning, before long Ronnie seems to be making improvements not only in her behavior, but in her socialization skills as well. She is part of the "in" crowd at school - even though to get there she had to betray the only true friend she had made, someone who accepted her for herself, rather than try to mold her into someone they wanted her to be. And, even though her mother has suffered from drug and alcohol abuse in the past, it seems as if she may have finally gotten her life back on track and will be ready to have Ronnie come and stay with her. The only question is, is it too late?

Reading this book made me think of what it was like growing up. The teenage years are not a pleasant experience for anyone, at least that is what I believe. I can't imagine the additional struggles that are faced by children that are part of the "system". I loved the way the author delved into each character, and even though some of them seemed pretty rotten, she still let you see that there was good in each of them. I think this is very important - people normally don't do bad things on purpose, but are sometimes victims themselves. We should all try to remember that, before we judge others too quickly.

This is a great read for anyone, not just young adults. Thanks for allowing us the opportunity!

Questions for the author:

Do you have any children?

Yes, I have two teen boys. I love writing and working with girls because I grew up in a very "girl" oriented family with two sisters, no brothers, and only one male cousin--and 10 female cousins!
Now that I am the only "girl" in my house (even our dog is a male) I tell my family that I write about and work with girls to get my "girl fix"!

I see that you are a therapist. Have you ever taken in a foster child or did you rely on your experience to help define your characters?

I've never taken in a foster child. But I have worked with many wonderful foster kids and families and this experience allows me to feel very confident about character motivations and story lines. Some of the people I work with have these very incredible things happen to them--good and bad--but I think just listening to voices of teens every week helps to keep my character voices "real".

Are any of your characters based on "real" people or are they just a combination of many?

Ronnie was based on a foster child I worked with many years ago. That is to say I was thinking about what she might be like as a teenager as I wrote Returnable Girl. I met this girl when she was 6 years old, and my own son was 6, and to think about a child having to move from place to place like she did (while my own son was snug in his own bed) was very heart-wrenching to say the least. But Ronnie's "story" is entirely made up as are all of my characters.

Do you have any additional books in the works?

Yes! I'm currently in the process of working on SPOTTING FOR NELLIE.

A copy of Returnable Girl is going to be raffled off the first week in February. To enter please visit www.uponfurtherreview.org and sign the guestbook under any book you are interested in winning. Winners will be announced at the website under Raffle Winners.

***Please note: I still have not been contacted by ANY of the January winners - please email me your shipping information so we can get these wonderful books out to you:)

Please contact me at uponfurtherreview@gmail.com with any questions or problems! ( )

Its about this girl named Ronnie who has been in foester care almost all of her life. Her mom left her with her aunt and uncle but they thought she would be too much to handle. So they are the ones who got her into a foester home. She finally gets to be with the girl named Alison. Alison treats Ronnie like she's her own child. She treats her with respect. She wants to adopt her but then this other family is interested in her, but she wants to stay with Alison. When the foester Lady comes for her because Ronnie thought she should give them a chance, when she got to the house she threw a hissy fit. Then the foester lady just took her back to Alison's house, and Alison accepted that Ronnie could stay at her house longer. Then Alison wanted to adopt her, but she had to go through things with Ronnie's real mom. ronnie's mom has also just sent Ronnie a letter for her birthday saying that she can have Ronnie live with her now in Alaska. Ronnie doesn't know what to do. ( )

Lowell presents an honest book about a young girl trying to find her family and self-worth. Sympathy for Ronnie and her determination grows as the story develops. Lowell builds a likeable character that young adults can identify with. ( )