All You Get Is Me

Prinz (The Vinyl Princess) infuses romance into a heated battle for justice in this provocative novel starring Aurora, a resilient, displaced city girl who loves photography. After her troubled mother left home two years ago, Aurora's attorney father "up and bought a farm like he was running out for a quart of milk." Now, instead of roaming the streets of San Francisco's Mission district, Aurora's days are spent in rural California gathering eggs and selling her father's organic produce. Her life takes another unexpected turn after she and her father witness a deadly car accident. Aurora's enraged father wants to bring a lawsuit against the careless driver who took a Mexican worker's life, but others in town—both whites and Mexicans—would rather keep things quiet. While her father's actions create controversy and danger for the family, Aurora is falling in love with the son of the guilty driver. Internal and external conflicts are vividly expressed as tensions rise in the community, and Aurora's loyalties are tested. While resolutions feel a bit contrived, Aurora's introspective narration and Prinz's well-drawn characterizations sustain this judicious story. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)