Liane Shaw
Liane Shaw
Sixteen-year-old Frederick has a lot of rules for himself. Like if someone calls him Freddy he doesn't have to respond; he only wears shirts with buttons and he hates getting dirty. His odd behavior makes him an easy target for the "Despisers" at school, but he's gotten used to eating lunch alone in the Reject Room. Angel, in tenth grade but already at her sixth school, has always had a hard time making friends because her family moves around so much. Frederick is different from the other kids she's met - he's annoyingly smart, but refreshingly honest - and since he's never had a real friend before, she decides to teach him all her rules of friendship. But after Angel makes a rash decision and disappears, Frederick is called in for questioning by the police and is torn between telling the truth and keeping his friend's secret. Her warning to him - don't tell, don't tell, don't tell - might have done more harm than good.
Her name is Sadie, but she might as well be called Fostergirl. Grouphomegirl. That's how everyone thinks of her. Sadie doesn't care. In fact, she'd be happier if they didn't think of her at all. Her goal is to go unnoticed, to disappear. After living in twelve different foster homes, Sadie's learned that nothing good comes from being noticed.Now here she is again, this time in a small town. There's a new high school, another new group home to get used to - lucky number 13. But Sadie's not finding it easy to stay beneath the radar. In fact, she's learning that it's impossible to be invisible in a small town. She can't seem to get people to stay out of her life, whether it's the endlessly chatty Rhiannon, who for some reason wants to be her friend; Jackson, the do-good guidance counsellor who thinks she can make Sadie into a student; or the other girls in the group home whose problems keep intruding on her solitude. Little by little, Sadie starts to wonder if there might be a different course for her life, one that lets a few other people along for the ride. Liane Shaw, author of thinandbeautiful.com, once again brings us a vivid and compelling portrait of a young woman at odds with the world around her.