Throwaway Girl (13 page)

I
t
turns out that it also takes a village to raise a book.

Special thanks to my agent, Arnold Gosewich, for taking a chance on me. I'd also like to thank the team at Dundurn Press for deciding that there was a place for this book.

To Fawn Nielsen, Maria Deutscher, and Leandra Clarke, who were so generous with their time in providing feedback on the book and support along the way.

To Susan McMillan, you are an absolute treasure and the epitome of an amazing teacher. I am indebted to you for your advice and insight with this book, but more importantly, your friendship.

To all social workers, foster parents, and other individuals who devote their lives to keeping vulnerable children safe.

To all teachers who aim to make a difference in a child's life. Your words have a tremendous impact, and for that I offer special thanks to Denis Sanche and Clement Bertoncini, two teachers whose encouraging words and messages during my early years have always stayed with me. Thank you for teaching that little girl to believe in her dreams of being a writer.

To my mom, for taking the time to read every single draft; you really powered through this book with me.

To my dad, for trying to decipher every excited, incoherent phone call of this journey and for sharing in my joy. You always believed that it was just a matter of time. I wish you could have been here to see the final product.

To Rick, for being an example to me on how to live in the moment.

To my children and to Ben — this journey would be nothing without you.

Picturing Alyssa

Alison Lohans

W
ho is the girl staring out of the old photograph? Every time Alyssa Dixon looks at it, even by accident, she finds herself on an Iowa farm in 1931. The past is nothing like Alyssa's unhappy life, her mother severely depressed after the stillbirth of Alyssa's baby sister; escalating bullying by Brooklynne, a popular girl; and a teacher who is unsympathetic toward Alyssa's family's pacifist beliefs.

Why can't Alyssa live in the past with her new friend, Deborah? Yet Alyssa is always pulled back to the present, where things only get worse. Maybe the farm isn't so idyllic, though. Deborah's mother is ill with a difficult pregnancy, and there's so much work. A series of old family photos shows Alyssa unsettling things about Deborah's family, things Deborah seems not to know. Can Alyssa help the baby be born safely, and at the same time work through the overwhelming problems at home?

Beautiful Goodbye

Nancy Runstedler

M
aggie's life has been anything but easy lately. So when her best friend Gillian discovers a Ouija board in the attic, it's a welcome relief. While they'd rather be at the mall than babysitting Maggie's brother Cole, the girls figure it will be a fun way to spend a Saturday — asking questions about boys and other teenage dilemmas. After all, it's just a game. Or is it?

Thinking nothing could possibly go wrong, the kids dive in, eager to test the new game, but discover the board will change their lives in ways they couldn't have imagined. The trio ends up with more than they bargained for and are thrust into a whirlwind journey. One from which they might never return, if they aren't careful.

Chasing the White Witch

Marina Cohen

T
eased by her older brother, bullied by the popular girls at school, and plagued by a blistering pimple that has surfaced on the tip of her nose, twelve-year-old Claire Murphy wishes she could shrivel up and die or spontaneously combust. But when a mysterious book appears at her feet in the checkout aisle of a grocery store, Claire is confident all her troubles are over. Following the instructions carefully, Claire dives nose-first into reeking remedies, rollicking rituals, and silly spells. It's only when she recklessly disregards the Law of Three that the line between good and evil blurs and Claire must race against time to undo all of the trouble she's caused.

The Baby Experiment

Anne Dublin

J
ohanna is a 14-year-old Jewish girl who lives in Hamburg, Germany, in the early 18th century. She feels stifled by the daily drudgery of her life and dreams of seeing what lies outside the confines of the Jewish quarter. Johanna lies about her identity and gets a job as a caregiver at an orphanage. Until it's too late, she doesn't realize a secret experiment is taking place that results in the deaths of babies.

Deciding to kidnap one of the orphans, Johanna sets off for Amsterdam. She faces many dangers on her journey, including plague, bandits, storms and, not least of all, anti-Semitism. Johanna has a lot of courage and determination, but will it be enough to save the baby and reach her destination? Will she finally find a place where she can be free?

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Copyright © Kristine Scarrow, 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

All characters in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Editor: Carrie Gleason

Design: Jennifer Gallinger

Cover design by Courtney Horner

Cover image: © Sanjay Deva

Epub Design: Carmen Giraudy

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Scarrow, Kristine, author

Throwaway girl / Kristine Scarrow.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-4597-1407-6 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-4597-1408-3 (pdf)

--ISBN 978-1-4597-1409-0 (epub)

I. Title.

PS8637.C37T47 2014 jC813'.6 C2013-908363-4 C2013-908364-2

We acknowledge the support of the
Canada Council for the Arts
and the
Ontario Arts Council
for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the
Government of Canada
through the
Canada Book Fund
and
Livres Canada Books
, and the
Government of Ontario
through the
Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit
and the
Ontario Media Development Corporation
.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, President

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