Jump the Cracks

Fifteen-year old Victoria is fuming when her dad fails once again to be at the train station like he's promised. When she sees a teen mother stash her bruised little boy in the train's bathroom and get off the train alone, Victoria makes a split-second decision. She boards the next train out of town-taking the toddler with her. What would you do? As far as I'm concerned, there's no excuse not to be decent...Especially when you're responsible for a kid. It just figures that fifteen-year old Victoria's dad fails once again to be at the train station like he's promised. Fuming, Victoria watches as a teen mom stashes her bruised little boy in the train's bathroom. When the mom gets off the train alone, Victoria decides she has had it with all the poor excuses who call themselves parents. Making a split-second decision, Victoria boards the next train out of town-taking the little boy with her. No, really, what would you do? Victoria's staying on the run until everyone responsible starts keeping their promises. This kid's not falling through the cracks. Not on her watch. AGES: 12 to 18 AUTHOR: Growing up in Wisconsin, Stacy DeKeyser spent her childhood summers reading at the library. The author of two middle-grade nonfiction books, Stacy has since turned to writing fiction. She received a Work-in-Progress Grant from SCBWI for her first novel, and is now working on her second novel for young people.