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

Angie lives in an old car with her brother and mother.

Homeless after their father left to find work, the family struggles to stay together and live as normally as possible. It is difficult though. Between avoiding the police and finding new places to park each night, it is a constant struggle. When Angie discovers slam poetry, she finds a new way to express herself and find meaning and comfort in a confusing world.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

Les livres de Sara Cassidy ont &eacutet&eacute finalistes pour de nombreux prix : le Chocolate Lily Award pour Black Gold et Blackberry Juice ; le Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award pour A Boy Named Queen ; le Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize pour Skylark ainsi que le Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature. Deux de ses titres, A Boy Named Queen et Double Play, ont &eacutet&eacute s&eacutelectionn&eacutes par la Junior Library Guild. Sara Cassidy a publi&eacute de nombreux recueils de po&eacutesie, œuvres de fiction et ouvrages documentaires pour adultes. Elle vit &agrave Victoria en Colombie-Britannique.

Sara Cassidy's profile page

• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Short-listed, Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize

"The plot is always moving forward to keep the reader engaged and interested. This perfectly mirrors the very heavy-handed subject matter, by presenting it in an easy to access way...A very rewarding read and one in which at-risk students will find hope."

Resource Links

"Beautifully written...[Cassidy] demonstrates how much can be said, shown and suggested in compact fashion in this novel which is full bodied in its every aspect...In succinct, reverberating episodic chapters that merge past with present, Angie relates how her family came to be living in a car, what it is like for them to live there and her hope for a home. Angie’s narration reads like confessional/prose poem monologue...[The characters are] drawn by Cassidy with deeply affecting sensitivity."

The Vancouver Sun

"Contains a lot of power in a small package; the prose is straightforward yet lyrical, without a wasted word. The result is an ultimately uplifting treatment of a difficult subject that is both accessible and artful...Angie’s poetic sensibilities give her the through-line she needs to cope with being homeless and enable the book to deliver its message without being messagey; readers needn’t be strongly committed to poetry to appreciate this, but those that are won’t be disappointed."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"The plot is believable and has quick pacing, making it a pleasure to read...The book fulfills expectations for a high-low reader and would make a great addition to any middle school library. Recommended."

CM Magazine

"Any teen who has felt like an outsider will identify with Angie’s attraction to the coffee-shop scene and be inspired by her family’s determination to support one another. The short chapters, simple language, and matter-of-fact narration make this Orca Soundings entry of appeal to reluctant readers."

Booklist