Before, After, and Somebody in Between

There isn't much that doesn't happen to Martha Kowalski, the 14-year-old protagonist in Garsee's down and dirty debut. In the past six years, she's been uprooted 10 times before moving to ""one of the worst neighborhoods on the east side of Cleveland."" She lives with her alcoholic mother and her mother's latest deadbeat boyfriend in a dilapidated shanty, surrounded by projects. Before long, the apartment upstairs is ripped apart in a drive-by shooting, Martha gets kicked out of school for wielding a knife (in self-defense against a bully) and her mother overdoses and winds up in rehab-again. So, when Martha is offered the chance to stay with a wealthy lawyer and his family, she gladly accepts. The Brinkmans treat her like gold (to the chagrin of their snooty daughter, Nikki) and Martha's life slowly takes a turn for the better. She falls in love with an older hunk named Danny, is accepted to an elite school and rediscovers her passion for playing the cello. But when jealous Nikki spills the beans about Martha's sordid past and her mother demands that she return home, Martha's life begins to deteriorate once more. While there are times that tragedy seems piled on, Garsee's unwillingness to tie things up neatly lends the story realism and poignancy. Ages 14-up.