In the tradition of To Kill a Mockingbird, this story of a young girl coming of age in the seventies is told in a mature voice but through the eyes of a child. Twelve-year-old Carrie Grietkirk is being reared by her loving, old-fashioned grandmother in conservative Dutch Falls, Virginia. Over the course of the summer, Carrie struggles between pleasing her grandma and a newfound friend - glamorous ex-Broadway star Ginger Jordan, who visits her vacation Bible school.While Carrie loves the safety of her family and church, she is drawn inevitably to the freedom and self-determination of "worldly" people. Along the way, intriguing characters, such as her chaplain father's Vietnamese wife, Phuong, help Carrie choose the path she must take. Read Less