Leslie C. Youngblood

Great-Aunt Vie has Alzheimer's disease and Georgie and her mother are staying in Bogalusa, LA, to help take care of her. Georgie meets Markie, a troubled foster child who was once fostered by Vie and who has never known her biological mother. Georgie wants to help Markie find her mother but is unaware of the more complex family story behind the situation. Georgie and her best friend Nikki are also planning fundraising talent show to benefit Alzheimer's research. The portrayal of intergenerational love and respect for Aunt Vie is a positive, although I found the pace a bit plodding. Might have just been my mood at the time.… (mehr)

After G-Baby's mother remarries, she and her sister Peaches are uprooted from their home and friends when they move in with their new step-dad. G-Baby has trouble blending in to this new extended family and misses her former neighborhood and friends. When tragedy strikes her family, everyone pulls together and G-Baby realizes what's really important.

I found this book to be rather slow-paced and the main character was a tad bit annoying but it also had a pertinent message about dealing with blended families and dealing with family illness that would be beneficial to a lot of young readers.… (mehr)