Living on Impulse

In 15-year-old Mia Morrow, Haycak creates a realistic portrait of a teenage girl whose life is spiraling out of control. First, Mia is caught shoplifting and, as punishment, must pay the store $300. Her penchant for partying and aversion to studying drive a wedge between her and her two best friends. Additionally, her alcoholic mother has relapsed, and her grandfather, the one person who seems to have faith in her, is dying. At first, readers won't necessarily sympathize with impulsive “bad girl” Mia, but her story is compelling enough to keep reading, if only to discover how low Mia will sink. With painstaking yet gratifying care, Haycak (Red Palms ) eventually starts Mia along the path of self-realization and forgiveness. Mia finds common ground with her mother, discovering they are both “reaching for something outside themselves to cure what was wrong on the inside,” and forgives her friends as well as herself. Readers who stick with Mia until the end will be glad they did. Ages 12–up. (Aug.)