60. When the Bough Breaks by Kay Lynn Mangum

Rachel Fletcher is fifteen, just entering high school and tired of being different.  Her father was killed four months earlier and her older brother comes home drunk every night.  And her mother is so depressed that she is unaware of the problems her children are facing.  Then the mother meets a man who lost his wife to breast cancer.  They get married and now Rachel has a stepfather and a stepbrother who also attends the same high school.  Rachel really struggles with all this complications and tragedies.  Things start to come together by the end of the book, but it is not a happily ever after type of story but an ongoing tale of facing life's challenges with courage and hope. 

I like this author.  She writes LDS fiction that is believable, deals with tough issues such as teen alcoholism, and presents a subdued picture of LDS faith that is refreshing.  Rating:  4.5