The Chance You Won’t Return (Candlewick, 2014) by Annie Cardi is a hard to put down story.
Alex Winchester’s mother is delusional–she thinks she’s Amelia Earhart. Junior Alex is trying to hold things together at home while her father is at work. She makes sure her younger siblings get up for school, fixes meals, and tries to make sure Mom says in the house. She can’t tell anyone what’s going on. Meanwhile, there’s Jim, who’s helping her get over her fear of driving, and might be her boyfriend. But as Mom worsens and Alex spends more time with Jim, Alex is disappearing from her own friends’ lives. She’s got to watch her mother so she won’t totally disappear just like Amelia Earhart did.
Author Annie Cardi is also a short story writer. Read more about her at her website where she also has an active blog. Annie is represented by agent Taylor Martindale Kean, whom I met this past weekend. I loved seeing Taylor’s enthusiasm for her author’s books.