Crush, Candy, Corpse by Sylvia McNicoll

This is one of the Red Maple Nominees for 2013 and a new author for me. Sunny is a high school student who must complete volunteer hours in order to graduate from high school. She doesn't really know where she wants to volunteer, but she isn't too thrilled with the idea of going into the Retirement home and working on the Alzheimer's floor. But Sunny's true nature comes out when she starts getting to know the people living on the floor, she really starts to care about them. Some of the nursing home staff give her a tough time because she doesn't always follow the rules, but it is just because she wants to treat the older people with dignity and respect. Then Sunny meets Cole,the grandson of one of the patients. He starts talking about how his grandmother didn't want to live a life where she couldn't remember her loved ones and was dependent on people. A year later, Sunny is on trial for the murder of his grandmother. This story is a quick read. Sunny and Cole are neat characters who show such compassion for older people living with Alzheimer's. The story goes back and forth between the past and the present as different witnesses come forward at Sunny's trial. This is a great book for girls in grade 7 and 8.