Gwen Bainbridge has a ritual. Each night she builds a box out of the postcards that she has received from her five-year-absent mother and wishes she were somewhere else—in Europe with her mother or inside her house of cards—instead of being stuck at home with her father. In this tender story about friendship and family, Withrow (Bat Summer) slowly unravels the secrets that have caused Gwen to retreat into a private world of postcards, dreams and denial. The author reveals her heroine's complex system of defenses while planting enough clues about Gwen's past to explain the cause of her pain. After her father's alternative lifestyle caused a rift between her and her ex-best friend, Gwen vows to remain a loner at the onset of eighth grade. However, a new girl named Clara is just as determined to be Gwen's best friend. Pushed and prodded by Clara, Gwen slowly reveals parts of herself that she meant to keep hidden and, when doing so, comes to realize she isn't the only one carrying disturbing secrets. Eloquent first-person narrative traces the gradual change Gwen undergoes as she learns to reach outward to find love and acceptance. Adolescents are sure to relate to the protagonist's self-consciousness about being different and the relief that comes when she finally finds a friend with whom she can be herself. Ages 10-12. (Nov.)
