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Summary

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Natasha Friend has proven herself to be a genius when it comes to capturing the lives of pre-teen and teen girls. In this novel, she looks at the life of Evyn, a thriteen year-old girl who lost her mother when she was very young. Since then it has just been her dad, her brother and her. Their life is happy, if a little financially strapped. That all changes one day when she and her brother come home from camp to the announcement that her father is getting married to a college professor and the family is moving to Boston. Evyn's world is turned upside down as she is thrust into a blended family. The college professor, Eleni, already has six kids. Evyn's dog isn't allowed in the house. Girls at her new toney private school only want to be friends with her to get info on her handsome new stepbrother. Her best friend back in Maine seems to be drifiting away and making new friends. To top it all, her stepmother is pregnant. Having lived through an experience similar to Evyn, this book was an accurate portrayal of how children deal with dramatic change in their lives. Evyn lashing out at those around her is very typical. Contrasted to this is her brother Mackey embracing the move as a chance to be someone else. I also found this book incredibly moving as Friend hit the nail on the head on the emotions these kind of upheavals bring. Mandatory reading for a parent planning to blend their family, let alone the kids who might have to live through it.