about the book
The lives of two young girls changes forever in the parking lot of a convenience store.
Wren is waiting in the family’s minivan while her mother runs into the store to grab something. When she hears gunfire, she scrambles into the back of the van and hides under a blanket. Someone rushes out of the store, jumps into the minivan, and drives off.
There is nothing Wren can do but remain hidden. The inadvertent kidnapper parks the car in a garage. Scared and shaking, Wren tries to find a way out, but she is trapped.
For two days she cowers in the dark garage until a young girl discovers her. Wren learns the girl’s name is Darra and that she desperately wants to protect her father. Eventually, Wren escapes without Darra’s help, and Darra’s father ends up in prison.
Six years later, the two girls, now fourteen, find themselves in the same summer camp in Michigan. Darra has a question that only Wren can answer. Wren has a few questions of her own. The girls see the incident so differently. Can they come to terms with the harrowing event and their feelings?
about the author
Born in Brookings, South Dakota, Helen Frost was the fifth of ten children. Among other things, she loved to think, argue, daydream, climb trees, and listen to her father’s stories. These stories and the family’s travel adventures inspired her to become a writer.
Helen earned a degree in Elementary Education from Syracuse University and a Master’s degree in English from Indiana University. Her life’s work has been a combination of writing and teaching. She has taught writing to students from preschool through university. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, she helped high school students write about how violence had affected their lives.
Helen has lived and taught in many places, including Scotland. In Alaska, she was the only teacher in Telida, a community of about 25 people. An author of over 120 books, Helen has written poetry, children’s books, adult books, fiction and nonfiction, a play, and a even a book about teaching writing.
Helen and her husband currently live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and have two grown sons. When she isn’t writing, she likes hiking, kayaking, and raising and releasing monarch butterflies.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Macmillan
Also by Helen Frost:
Salt : A Story of Friendship in a Time of War. Farrar, Straus Giroux. 2013.
Diamond Willow. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. 2008.
The Braid. Frances Foster Books. 2006.
Spinning Through the Universe : A Novel in Poems from Room 214. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. 2004.
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