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Carly Wheeler is used to having the kind of life other kids envy. She's a popular seventh grader at the prestigious Preston Day School. Her mom is a stylist for the hot soap opera Lovelock Falls, and Faux Pa (what Carly calls her step-father) loves her just as much as he loves his real kids.

But the day her mother is arrested for embezzling funds from her job, Carly's life becomes crazier than a plotline on the show. Suddenly instead of trips to the set, she's accompanying her mom to the lawyers' office and the courtroom. Newspapers chronicle the whole mess so everybody knows, and Carly's closest friends start avoiding her in school. Her parents can barely look at each other. Worst of all, Carly is no longer sure how she feels about her mother.

In this authentic story about a timely topic, Courtney Sheinmel shows what can happen when the world crumbles down around you and you're left to pick up the pieces – even though it may not look the same when they're put together again.

What people are saying:

"Realistic yet positive." - School Library Journal

"Sheinmel persuasively and sensitively conveys Carly's conflicting emotions and attempts to make sense of what's been thrust upon her." – Publishers Weekly

"The compelling subject and likeable characters will please drama-loving fans." – Kirkus