EeeJay

Overall FeelI hope no one has to go through a bit of what Melody did (even though I am aware that nothing actually happened to her). The worst part of having an unstable parent (or relative or friend, whatever) is the uncertainty. Although the book's not depressing, it does make you think and for those reasons alone, I give this story 5 stars. The funny thing is, the book's written as if for kindergarten-ers but the content's so mature. That makes sense because while Melody is 12 and although in some ways very mature, she's never experienced things most 12 year-olds have and the tone of the story reflects that. Strongest MomentWhen Paul and Mel go to view that homeless guy's place and Paul starts kicking his shopping cart and Mel says: "Stop! Those are someone's things!"...That made me realize that just because you're homeless, doesn't mean you can't belong somewhere.Peeves & Likes I did believe Gladys changed her attitude a bit too suddenly for me and I never understood why Cecily left in the first place. That remains a mystery but I guess you can't solve everything. The small perks that Mel has, e.g: Counting days down and evaluating money before she's even started a job sounded just like me (and getting excited to be in a library), just like a normal kid (apart from the library part :P) . A recommended read for everyone, young and old alike!