• Age: 10 to 12
• Grade: 5 to 7
• Reading age: 10 to 12

Gwen's mother ran away five years ago. Now Gwen is receiving postcards from her that promise a reunion -- postcards with French stamps and no return address. Gwen is sure that it is only a matter of time before her mother sends for her. Until then, she plans to be a loner. After all, there's no point in making friends you are just going to leave behind.

But then Gwen meets Clara, the new girl in the grade eight class, who behaves oddly and is determined to befriend Gwen. But, even though Gwen is drawn to her, the more she finds out about Clara's life, the less she wants to tell about her own. In Gwen and Clara, Sarah Withrow has created two utterly believable thirteen-year-olds who struggle to sort out their place with friends, school and family.

Sarah Withrow is the author of What Gloria Wants, The Black Sunshine of Goody Pryne, Box Girl and Bat Summer, which was shortlisted for a Governor General's Award and has been published in seven countries. She also writes short stories for adults, which have been published in The Fiddlehead Review, The Malahat Review, The New Quarterly and Descant. Sarah lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Sarah Withrow's profile page

...it's the girls' supportive and honest friendship that takes center stage and will remain in the readers' minds...

Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW

An issue novel about working through loss, this is both well handled and credible.

Booklist

Withrow...is a master of her craft...an absorbing and intelligently written novel.

Quill & Quire