Where No Gods Came / Sheila O'Connor / 196 pages

Faina McCoy's father has run up gambling debts and signs on with an oil rig drilling team in Australia.  He will be gone a year.  He leaves Faina with her mother whom she hasn't seen since she was a baby.  The move is difficult for Faina.  Minnesota is much, much colder than sunny California and her mother leaves much to be desired.  Her absent sister is into drugs, stealing, and unsavory relationships.  Faina is sent to Catholic school but never fits in.  This is heartrending tale of a broken family, yet it shows the indomitability and resilience of one Faina McCoy.