Additional information
by Kathleen McElligott (Author)
Wicked smart and socially awkward, we meet Mia Compton on her thirteenth birthday. Instead of the painting kit she requested, she receives a handgun, a rite of passage in Kennison, where everyone is required to be armed, or signal if they are not. Mia naively accepts the status quo, 'an armed society is a safe society, ' but everything changes after her best friend, Natalie, is murdered at New Hope Academy by a stalker.
As Natalie's death fades from the headlines, Mia becomes isolated and depressed. Her grades plummet and she must leave New Hope. At Jane Addams H.S. she meets Debare, who becomes her lifeline. While studying in Mia's room one evening, they hear gunshots and run downstairs to find Mia's mother lying in a pool of blood. The front door is open and Mia's father is missing.
Before Natalie's death, and her mother's murder, Mia and Natalie befriended a homeless woman, Minnie, while on a school field trip. In Minnie, Mia finds the maternal love she craves. Minnie finds in Mia the daughter who was stolen from her at birth. While mourning the loss of Natalie and her mother, Mia regularly visits Minnie at the homeless camp, until Minnie also disappears. Are the disappearances related? Mia is determined to solve the mystery of her mother's murder, and the disappearance of her father and Minnie. What she discovers changes her life and her world view forever.
With the help of Minnie and her boyfriend Debare, Mia is finally able move beyond the pain and loss that overshadowed her and her family. Ultimately, Mia finds peace in a rustic cabin away from Kennison. There she discovers herself and her calling, a deep connection to the land.
