Home Sweet Home

Tracy, 16, and her family leave Manhattan for a year to try living on Grandma Tilly's farm in the country. Tracy's parents and 14-year-old brother adjust quickly, but Tracy is resentful and homesick for the city. Things begin to brighten when Tracy meets Anya, a Russian foreign-exchange student. Despite occasional conflicts when discussing politics, the two girls develop a strong friendship. When Tracy's grandmother suffers a stroke and subsequently dies, the family must pull together to keep the farm running. Tracy learns a great deal about farm life, people and helping others, but hers is a rather ordinary story. Like the title, this book is warm but rather predictable. Ages 11-up. (February)