The Situation: Lucy Smith's dad died five years ago, and for most of that time, she has been in the foster care system. But for the last six months or so, she has managed to be out on her own, living in a small but clean and respectable apartment, while earning and saving money by working at the Pleasant Diner. When a Native American man enters the diner and asks Lucy to join him when she gets her next break, she is already thinking of exit strategies and where she may head next. After he last foster care placement, Lucy has been on the run and always prepared to once again head out on the road and make another life somewhere else. But the man insists he wants to help, and while Lucy is extremely cautious, she also really wants to believe him.
The Problem: While the Native American man, Jamie, and his friend Daunis do appear to have Lucy's best interest in mind, she knows she is being followed and still in incredible danger. She throws out every misdirect that she can to keep her pursuers from finding her, but she will eventually have to tell Jamie and Daunis about her past, and why someone may be looking for her. Even as she holds on to her secrets, Jamie and Daunis have a big reveal for her, something her dad failed to tell her. Not only is Lucy part Native American, but she has a family that would be able to take care of her. It is a lot to take in, and Lucy has little time to decide what direction to go in next.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fiction book that takes place in and around Michigan, and is set between the years of 2002 and 2009, although there is a brief moment when Lucy goes as far back as 1996, when she was six years old. As 2009 Lucy tells her story, she goes back in time and talks about her dad, how he died, and everything that followed, including the multiple homes she lived in while in foster care. It is only after meeting Jamie and Daunis that she finds out she is part Native American, and that her social workers should have followed the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. But because that did not happen, Lucy stayed in foster homes that were varying degrees of safe and dangerous, with the last one giving her enough reasons to stay on the move and always look over her shoulder.
My Verdict: Boulley gives readers another intense story full of complicated characters, determined and greedy villains, and plenty of mysteries to solve. As the story progresses and Lucy reveals more of her past, both to the readers and to Jamie and Daunis, it is clear that she has been through a lot, but Boulley manages to reveal the most delicious details of the story in a way that keeps the story engaging and riveting, and somehow also not frustrating or tacky. There is a near-constant sense that things are going to come to a head, but how and who it will involve remains unclear until the final few pages.
Favorite Moment: Lucy makes plenty of mistakes, and is often confronted with the fact that she does not know everything, but she can and does defend herself against an attacker, remembering the advice of one of her foster sisters.
Favorite Character: It was nice to have Daunis back in a story, and as an adult who is now able to help out someone younger who is going through a tough time.
Recommended Reading: I recommend Boulley's previous two books, both part of the Firekeeper's Daughter world.
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