Sun Signs

Darcy's mother is getting out of jail. Ten years ago Darcy's mom was convicted of throwing Darcy's baby sister off a fifth-floor balcony. Kat survived, but Darcy has spent the last decade raising his sister, giving her the love and support she has been denied by an absent mother and an uncaring father. Now, with their mother about to be released, their father has decided he has had enough of parental responsibility and is determined to return the children to their mother's care. Darcy is horrified, and adamant that he will not subject his sister to the woman who once tried to murder her. Struggling to understand and control the anger and resentment that has consumed him, Darcy is forced to confront his feelings and engage with the outside world. With newfound friendships and the unflagging support of his teacher, Darcy is able to understand some of the pain of the past and accept that he cannot control everything. As he grudgingly re-establishes ties with the mother he thinks he hates, he is accused of a horrific act. It will take incredible strength—his own and others—to fight the charges, but he finds that truth is often an elusive concept and that trust—and love—are powerful allies. Darcy's mother is getting out of jail. Ten years ago she was convicted of throwing Darcy's baby sister off a fifth floor balcony. Kat survived, but Darcy has spent the last decade raising his sister, giving her the love and support she has been denied by an absent mother and an uncaring father. Now, with their mother about to be released, their father has decided he has had enough of parental responsibility and is determined to return the children to their mother's care. Darcy is horrified, and adamant that he will not subject his sister to the woman who once tried to murder her. Struggling to understand and control the anger and resentment that has consumed him, Darcy is forced to confront his feelings and engage with the outside world. With newfound friendships and the unflagging support of his teacher, Darcy is able to understand some of the pain of the past and accept that he cannot control everything. As he grudgingly re-establishes ties with the mother he thinks he hates, he is accused of a horrific act. It will take incredible strength--his own and others--to fight the charges, but he finds that truth is often an elusive concept and that trust--and love--are powerful allies. Unable To Attend School while she battles cancer, fifteen-year-old Kayleigh Wyse tries to complete her classes online by correspondence. Developing a science project on astrology, Kayleigh enlists other online learners as study participants. What starts as a collaborative and supportive project based on the scientific method, slowly becomes unwieldy and then flawed when it is apparent that all the project participants are hiding vital clues about their identities. As Kayleigh struggles with the effects of chemotherapy and radiation, she is forced to examine the assumptions she has made about others and the manner in which she presents herself to the world. "Sun Signs is a compelling story that examines the danger of blind faith in an electronic age and the ease with which our identities, in the absence of traditional clues, can shift and change Kia is sixteen and pregnant. Her world crumbles as she attempts to come to terms with the life growing inside her and what she must do. Initially convinced that abortion is her only option, Kia comes to understand that for her, the answers are not always black and white. As the pregnancy progresses, Kia discovers who her real friends are and where their loyalties lie. It is through her relationship with the elderly Grace that she learns what it means to take responsibility for one's life and the joy that can come from trusting oneself. Faced with the most difficult decision of her life, Kia learns that the path to adulthood is not the easily navigable trail she once thought, but a twisting labyrinth where every turn produces a new array of choices, and where the journey is often undertaken alone. 16-year-old Kia learns she is pregnant. She must then confront not only her own fears but also the feelings of her parents and her friends from her church youth group. Throughout the book, the teen matures and begins to understand that giving birth and raising a baby are two different things. Fourteen-year-old Darcy Murphy has been helping to raise his younger sister, Kat, since their mother was convicted of attempted murder; but now Sherri Murphy is being released and it will take incredible strength for Darcy to face her and the community that has labeled both of them "When sixteen-year-old Kia finds she is pregnant, her ordered life crumbles. She learns what it means to take responsibility for one's life, and the importance of trusting oneself" Cf. Our choice, 2002 Staring out from the front page is a picture of Mom, and I swear she’s looking me right in the eyes. The caption reads, ‘Attempted Murderer To Be Given Parole.’ When 15-year-old Darcy's mother is released from prison, he finds it is much harder to love than to hate, until he too is accused of a horrific crime Kia stepped into her flannel, teddy bear-speckled boxer shorts and tugged one of her dad's old T-shirts over her head. Sixteen-year-old Karen finds herself pregnant and facing the most difficult decision of her life When Kia finds she is pregnant, her ordered life crumbles – until she begins to trust herself.