• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 8 to 12
• Reading age: 12 to 18

Dime is fifteen and angry all the time. Her parents don't like the way she dresses, her boyfriend, her attitude. Her older brother Darren was paralyzed in an accident she walked away from, and Dime is sure her parents wish she were the one in the wheelchair. When the fights and accusations finally become too much, Dime moves in with her brother. At first she is overjoyed with the change of scenery and lack of parental control. But when her troubles follow her she finds that maybe it isn't everyone else who is the problem, and realizes that she has to start taking some responsibility for her actions.

Also available in Spanish.

In high school Beth Goobie studied and taught piano, wrote stories, and was the recipient of academic and citizenship awards. She worked for a year as a nanny in Holland, then moved to Winnipeg where she studied English literature at the University of Winnipeg (receiving the gold medal) and religious studies at the Mennonite Brethren Bible College. She has worked for many years with physically and sexually abused children and is concerned with issues surrounding the anger and powerlessness of those under legal age. Addressing these issues in her writing, she has published several novels for young adults, including Born Ugly, Mission Impossible, The Lottery and Before Wings, as well as poems and short stories for an adult audience in anthologies and magazines such as Fiddlehead, Malahat Review and Quarry. She lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Beth Goobie's profile page

• Commended, Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA) Top Forty
• Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Our Choice
• Commended, Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Quick Picks
• Commended, Resource Links, The Year's Best Books

"Simple yet varied vocabulary and language realistical enough to keep the attention of teens while remaining clean enough for classroom use...Goobie has a particular flair for creating dramatic yet believable situations."

NMRLS Book Review Group

"Provides preteen and teen readers with a role model who is able to see that the choices one makes should have less to do with popularity and more to do with the right thing...A must-read for every teenager and pre-teen and an excellent acquisition for school and public libraries."

Resource Links

"An accurate reflection of the emotional lives of many teenage girls who act out in a cry to be loved for who they are. This short novel, set in large, accessible type will appeal to struggling readers who are drawn to emotional, contemporary stories in which the heroine triumphs on her own terms...Recommended."

CM Magazine

“Teen readers will relate to Dime’s struggle to accept herself and frustration at being always compared with another sibling who seems infallible. Although the writing is simple and concise, the main characters are multidimensional... A must-buy for librarians looking for high quality fiction to appeal to reluctant readers.”

VOYA