I picked up this book on a whim at my local Friends of the Library Sale, and I'm really glad that I did! It tells the story of 14 year old LaVaughn who takes a job babysitting for Jolly's two children. Jolly is only 17, and she is having a rough time raising her two young children (Jilly and Jeremy). LaVaughn is torn between helping Jolly with the kids and saving up for her ultimate goal of going to college so she can have a better life and leave this town to avoid ending up like Jolly. The story really sucks you in and leaves you torn between wanting LaVaughn to do what she can to help Jolly or leave the situation so she doesn't get brought down too. It says here that it's for ages 9-12, but I would put it at a bit of the higher end of that spectrum and perhaps teens would be interested in it as well. Not that there's anything blatantly inappropriate for 9 year olds, I just don't think it is really something they would be interested in and I think it would appeal more to someone who is closer to LaVaughn's age and could relate to what it's like to cross the threshold into the adult world by making hard choices. This book is written in a bit of an usual style (it claims to "break at natural speaking phrases" which I didn't totally see all the time, but it made it quick to read with its short chapters). I just found out that it's the first in a trilogy, so I look forward to eventually reading the other two.
