Wolfson, Jill. Home, and other big, fat lies.

WOLFSON, Jill. Home, and other big, fat lies. Henry Holt. 281p. c2006. 0-8050-7670-0. $16.95. J*

Quite a lot of YA fiction lately centers on the trials of foster children forced to live in strange and terrible families and adapt. This novel joins that sub-genre. Eleven-year-old Whitney is entering her 12th foster home and she is jaded. She's been abused and misused and doesn't plan to get emotionally involved with anyone at number 12. She's got her pet bug, a good mind, a lot of nerve, and a determination to run away. But, the people who live at the top of the map of California, in a lumber town in the middle of the redwood forests, are not interested in committing to her either. Numerous families have taken in foster kids to survive a financial crisis brought about by groups protecting a rare owl habitat. The townspeople are not so much unkind as they are beaten down. But now, Whitney is part of a group of fosters who must learn to live in a new culture that lives and dies by trees, yet where environmentalist is a dirty word. Of course, Whitney immediately falls in love with a tree she calls "Big Momma," and when limited logging returns to the area bringing a promise of prosperity, she has a larger cause to consider than herself.

The narrator here is a brassy, sassy, likable, know-it-all kid who, in spite of her attitude, learns something new, and takes a stand. The novel also contains interesting information about ecological issues, suggests workable compromises, and is packed with freshly drawn characters. Myrna Marler, Assoc. Prof. of English, BYU, Provo, UT

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

*--The asterisk highlights exceptional books.