Darlene Ryan

Teenage runaway Maddie meets Quinn, who goes by Q, after walking out on a mean-spirited preacher without waiting for a meal or place to sleep after the sermon. Always alert herself, Maddie learns Q saw her sharing food and warm clothes with a child and an older lady at a shelter and invites her to share rejected food from a hotel kitchen and his car to sleep in, no strings attached. They decide to team up, sleeping in the car or a building where Q has temporary work, until they can figure out something else. After a family with a mean father abandons his 6 year old son Dylan with them, Q rents a bare room and bath from his temp work boss for $100./week, sells his car for more cash and they settle in. Q does day work, Maddie cares for Dylan while making the rounds of shelters for food and collecting recycling for cash. Maddie learns more ways to scrounge food from an older neighbor and they are barely getting along when life gets even more complicated as Q brings home Leo, an 11 year old boy he won in a poker game, to keep him safe.

This title comes from Orca Books, a publisher specializing in realistic fiction for young adults. Although it’s a larger and longer format than their other books, I was engrossed with the great plot and realistic, believable characters; I read it in two days! I recommend this book for anyone looking for urban fiction that doesn’t sugarcoat life on the streets.

E. Goldstein-Erickson… (meer)

Every now and then I read a book that just tears my heart open. As a teacher I have had students who were abused or were homeless. It seems to be a problem that is growing daily. Darlene Ryan has crafted a story that we could watch on the news any night. Maddie comes from an abusive home. Her step-dad is the abuser and her mother sides with him. I really disliked the mother for this reason. Maddie decides it would be better if she ran away. Out on the street she meets a boy named Q. She agrees that they stand a better chance of surviving on the street if they work together. Things are hard but manageable at first. One day they agree to watch a homeless couple’s six year old boy. Unfortunately the parents never come back for him. I was so angry. I kept wondering how they could just desert him. Now Maddie has to try to make them all a family. She wants to make sure that Dylan doesn’t have the kind of parents she had. Q starts to have some issues that break the trust that Maddie placed in him. She finally realizes she can’t do this on her own. This is a hard story to read yet once started it is hard to put down. Your heart breaks for all of the kids out there like Maddie. This is definitely a book that I want on my shelves in my classroom.… (meer)

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My Opinion : Warning : I read this book in half a day, and my emotions were fully blown. Maybe reading it in a day would be better for everyone.


This book was different from what I normally read. I love Young Adult Paranormal Romance, and this was more about Young Adult Non-Fiction. But I still enjoyed it.


I haven't read much books that are about dealing with death without anything Paranormal, so this was a bit weird for me at first. The writing was fast-paced, but still kept a grip on small details that made the story whole.


*uses sarcasm* D'Arcy (Yeah, I know, weird way of writing a name) was simply charming! Nah, just kidding. She had a weird, but understandable, way of dealing with her father's death. But when Seth appeared, she began feeling better, and that's why I'm so grateful to Seth.


I recommend this book to anyone who likes Non-Fiction. Even Fiction fans could read this.… (meer)