Plot

Skylar Deacon is struggling with many things in her life: a toddler brother, a summer school class in another part of town, riding the bus to get there, new friendships at the school, and conflicting advice from her sister. Most of all, she's struggling with a secret tragedy that has been damaging her family for three years. Her mother is even worse, amplifying Skylar's fears and guilt. But Skylar finds help in her strong grandmother, kind priest-counselor, and later her new friends Tasha, Naomi, Margaret, D.J., and Shawn. And with that help, she begins to find the courage to heal her life.

Literary references

Mrs. Vargas, Skylar's summer school English teacher, reads stories and poems for class discussion and essays. The following are mentioned and become part of the plot:

• Shirley Jackson
  Shirley Jackson
  Shirley Jackson was an American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years...
  
  , "The Very Strange House Next Door" (short story)
• Ray Bradbury
  Ray Bradbury
  Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
  
  , "There Will Come Soft Rains
  There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)
  "There Will Come Soft Rains" is a short story by science fiction author Ray Bradbury which was first published in the May 6, 1950 issue of Collier's...
  
  " (short story)
• D.H. Lawrence
  D. H. Lawrence
  David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
  
  , "Snake" (poem)
• Frank O'Connor
  Frank O'Connor
  Frank O’Connor was an Irish author of over 150 works, best known for his short stories and memoirs.-Early life:...
  
  , "First Confession" (short story)