From three-time Newbery Medal winner Zilpha Keatley Snyder comes the story of three desperate kids who just want to run away Dani O'Donnell hates the dusty desert town of Rattler Springs and the ramshackle cabin where she lives with her widowed mother. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, Dani hatches a plan to run away and return home to Sea Grove, California, with its palm trees and ocean breezes. But her scheme gets complicated when Stormy Arigotti, a dyslexic nine-year-old, decides he wants in. As if that weren't enough, a big-city family just set up shop on the rundown ranch Dani's mother inherited from her husband-and the daughter, Pixie Smithson, wants to join the runaway group. Pixie's the strangest girl Dani has ever met, but now they have to think about practical things, like raising money for three bus tickets. For Dani, Stormy, and Pixie, running away might not turn out to be the great adventure they envisioned. This ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
"Snyder pulls off another feat of prestidigitation with this roundly satisfying story. . . . Readers will gravitate to her protagonist, 12-year-old Dani O'Donnell, right from the opening scene in a graveyard. . . . Even the minor characters here seem to have lives off the page."
Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The dying town and desperate people are very real and touching. The plight of these creative and neglected children will keep readers turning the pages."
School Library Journal, starred review
"Dani's pal Stormy is a richly drawn character with few words and rough gestures, an unforgettable portrait of a child whose life is heartbreakingly complicated."
