Speckled Birds

Book excerpt: Though teenaged Angie lives in a small, wealthy town, she is poor. Deserted in birth by her mother, her father killed in war, she lives in a trailer with her ailing but loving Grandma. Though a gifted athlete, Angie's afraid to compete in her preppie school because she feels like she's "trailer trash." Just as she is threatened by a disliked aunt who has announced she will soon take Angie away to live with her and put Grandma in a facility, Angie meets a boy at school. Theo is brilliant, wealthy, but an awkward loner. His parents have time only for their country club and try buying him off with "things," while his schoolmates taunt him for his eccentric intelligence. His only friends are his computer and his bird, Speckles. As Angie and Theo form a unique bond as soulmates, they gain the courage to begin their journeys toward adulthood, resolving family problems and taking actions to utilize their talents.