Comeback

Gr 6-Up Ria's dad is charming, happy-go-lucky, and rich. Too bad Ria is stuck living with her mother, who works hard, worries about money, and is usually tired and cranky. Her father shows up unexpectedly in a 1962 LeSabre and, in a grandiose gesture, hands the keys to his daughter's boyfriend. Ria decides to tell her parents that it would be so much better for everyone if she lived with her dad. But then his plane is reported down, in an assumed suicide. What is worse is that Ria's beloved father is now much maligned; apparently he was swindling his customers. In denial and in defense of him, Ria runs away with her brother in tow. Some plot elements are unbelievable; for example, adults don't inform the authorities of a teenage girl who is either homeless or a runaway, hauling around a little kid. Nonetheless, reluctant and struggling readers will be satisfied by the compelling story."Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.