you’ll never believe what God was wearing when times got tough and the mall closed

Book excerpt: Thirteen of us, hanging out at the mall on Saturdays, having sleepovers every other weekend, sharing histories, working through our diversities, our problems with our moms, with boys, with zits and being "fat," we were pretty sure we had it all together. Until our losses began to stack up in the form of a close friend's death, diversities that threatened to split us up, parents losing their jobs in the deepening recession, some of us losing our homes; some losing our way; on top of that, the mall, our favorite hangout haven on the planet, closing its doors. And then, out of nowhere, our lives began to change. Mostly because of the mysterious woman that showed up toward the end of our eighth grade year, and the way she shook up our lives forever.