Jenny B. Jones In Between

In Between

Jenny B. Jones

Think (Navpress), Mar 2007, $12.99

ISBN: 9781600060984

Sixteen years old Katie understands that she is an orphan of sorts as she has never met her dead beat dad and now her mom is a guest of the State of Texas; for that matter Katie is also a guest of the Lone Star State as she is a ward of the Texas government living in the apropos named Sunny Haven Home for Girls until she was dumped on some foster parents in aptly named In Between, Texas.

Her foster parents James and Millie Scott treat her nicely, but Katie has an issue with them. She needs to know their motive for taking someone like her into their home especially since his full name is senior Pastor James of the In Between Community Church. However, she refuses to ask as she knows from the whispered warnings of her bunk mates at Sunny Haven that she will not stay here very long; the foster home system stores undesirables for short times. However, as Katie works on fulfilling the prophecy, the Scotts continue to nurture her as if she is an angel not a devil. Katie begins to accept the shocker that they genuinely care about her while the Scots realize that their ward is teaching them about life amongst the forgotten downtrodden.

This often amusing, but always poignant contemporary tale makes a strong case that it takes dedicated caring villagers to raise a child. The cast is strong as readers will empathize with Katie's understanding of her world as defined by her throwaway peers and the need for the Scotts to help her. The support characters enhance this fine story as the audience along with these secondary players and the Scotts learn how a foster child follows the money while doing the parenting shuffle.

Harriet Klausner