• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12
• Reading age: 14 to 18

CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2015) — Commended

When Dani sets out to uncover her father’s past, she also discovers her own future.

Raised by her mother, eighteen-year-old Dani Lancaster only had six weeks to get to know her father, Sam, before he lost his battle with cancer. It was long enough to love him, but not long enough to get to know him — especially since Sam didn't even know himself.

Left on the doorstep of an elderly couple when he was just days old, and raised in a series of foster homes, Sam had no idea who his parents were or why they had abandoned him. Dani is determined to find out. With nothing more than an address book, an old letter, and a half-heart pendant to guide her, she sets out on a solo road trip that takes her deep into the foothills, to a long-forgotten town teeming with secrets and hopefully answers.

After nearly 30 years as a published author, Kristin has written more biographies of herself than she cares to remember. And she has run out of new ways to describe the same old life. Besides, she doesn't think of herself in terms of her birthplace, education, and work history. What she'd really like people to know about her is that she loves to dance. She loves to laugh. She loves to learn. Crossword puzzles relax her. Waiting frustrates her. She likes spending time by herself. And, like the heroine in her new book Closer to Far Away, she has a family that gives her strength. Her books include Cheat, Girls Like Me, The Druid and the Dragon, and Alibi. Kristin lives in Campbell River, British Columbia.

Kristin Butcher's profile page

• Commended, CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2015)

The contrast between the feisty, unconventional characters in Farrow and her less interesting conventional parents is nicely drawn.

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Readers will be impressed and engaged by Dani’s resourcefulness and entrepreneurial spirit. She brings people together and creates opportunities for the community of Farrow, actions which, in turn, help take the edge of her grief.

Canadian Materials

In a field of palpitating hearts and dystopian societies, this realistic novel is a refreshing change... Butcher adeptly creates a feel-good story that has the flavor of Jonathan Friesen's Jerk, California (Speak, 2008), sands the angst.

School Library Journal