Where the heart is

For thirteen-year-old Rachel summer is meant to be a time of long days of swimming at the lake and hanging out with her best friend Micah. And this year she has a summer job taking care of the animals at the small hobby farm across the road. The chickens and pig are challenging but she loves looking after the gentle horses and goats and especially the adorable baby steer. At home though things are complicated. Her parents seem more worried about money than usual; they've even started arguing about it. Fortunately Micah is a constant loyal steadying presence. But Rachel knows he wants their relationship to be more than a friendship. Rachel almost wishes for that too but she just doesn't feel "that way" about him. She isn't sure she wants that kind of relationship with any boy-- and wonders what that might mean. When the financial challenges facing the family reach a crisis point Rachel will have to face some new realities. Things change and they end but there just might be a few new beginnings too.