A Face at the window -- The chickabiddy starts a story -- Bravery -- That's what I'm telling you -- A damsel in distress -- Blackberries -- Ill-ah-no-way -- The lunatic -- The Message -- Huzza, huzza -- Flinching -- The marriage bed -- Bouncing birkway -- The rhododendron -- A snake has a snack -- The singing tree -- In the course of a lifetime -- The good man -- Fish in the air -- The blackberry kiss -- Souls -- Evidence -- The badlands -- Birds of sadness -- Cholesterol -- Sacrifices -- Pandora's box -- The Black Hills -- The tide rises -- Breaking in -- The photograph -- Chicken and blackberry kisses -- The visitor -- Old faithful -- The plan -- The visit -- A kiss -- Spit -- Homecoming -- The gifts -- The overlook -- The bus and the willow -- Our gooseberry -- Bybanks.
Summary:
After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold, the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother. Here the author weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.