South of Somewhere

Mavis and her family are coming home to Chicago from a vacation in Hawaii. When they turn the corner onto their street, the street is filled with big black SUVs and people in FBI jackets. Dad asks what’s going on, and he is told their house has been seized and the FBI is looking for Mom, who took a cab from the airport. She is wanted for embezzlement, and she then disappears.

Dad goes to the bank only to find their accounts have been seized too. With nowhere to go and no money, Dad takes Mavis, her sister, and her brother to his estranged sister’s home in a nearby small, shabby-seeming town. Mavis feels like her life is over.

Kalena Miller has written a compelling story of a family nearly destroyed by one selfish, criminal parent who walks away and leaves the rest of the family to muddle through. Told from the viewpoint of twelve-year-old Mavis as she navigates a new place, making new friends, finding ways to help keep the family afloat, and more, this story will connect to middle-grade readers. The writing is excellent, the characters are believable, and the story will keep pages turning.