Red-Tail

by Sally Pfoutz

Born to a homeless teen, given to her Aunt Margaret to be raised, taken back when she wasn’t yet two because her mother, Emmy, found Nathan to love—Natalie’s life, up to the moment she tries to jump to her death at 17, has been propelled by everyone around her. There’s Emmy, who can’t love her enough, and Nathan, who loves her too much; Emmy’s friend Dennis, a true father-figure, and Natalie’s birth father, Brian, who never gets to meet her; Brian’s wife Tracy, who is unable to have children but becomes the best mother to Natalie, and Tracy’s adopted daughter Lucy, the first true, honest friend and sister Natalie ever had. There’s also Natalie’s grandmother, Doe, who could never approve of a bastard child until that child is all she has left. But the worst is Margaret, who never forgives Emmy for taking Natalie back and seeks revenge in the most terrible way.

219 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2002