What I Call Life by Jill Wolfson

I'm not really sure where this book came from- I just found it sitting on my shelf of YA books, but I'm glad I found it. Similar to the story, Pictures of Hollis Woods, What I Call Life deals with girls in the foster care system.

Eleven year old Cal Lavender is taken away from her mother after an 'episode' at the local library. Cal has spent many years looking after her mother. She likes order, rules and routine. Cal puts on a very brave face to ensure that nobody knows that her life is in chaos. After the 'episode', Cal finds herself in a group home, where she doesn't make the rules and she is powerless to help her mother.

In the group home, Cal meets some very interesting girls. They are all there for a variety of reasons, but they all have one thing in common- they are looking for love and acceptance from those around them. The older women running the group home the "Knitting Lady' gives these girls what they need. She often tells wonderful stories to teach them life lessons.

As Cal listens to the stories and gets to know the other girls, she learns things about herself, her mother and the world around her. Watching Cal deal with the different situations and learning how it feels to be helpless in controlling your own life is painful at times, yet rewarding to watch at the same time.

I'm going to look for more books by Wolfson- she seems to write books about a childhood that not many children experience, but more people need to know about.