Call Me Sunflower

Gr 4–6—When Sunflower's mom moves the family to North Carolina, Sunny leaves behind the only father figure she has ever known—not to mention her cat, school, and friends. Sunny and her mother have moved in with Sunny's rich grandmother, whom the girl barely knows, because her mom is pursuing a graduate degree. It doesn't take long for Sunny to put her super-stupendous plan to get her mom and dad back together again into action, without regard to the consequences or the feelings she hurts. After a series of disastrous choices, Sunny realizes that she can't misbehave her way back to New Jersey and that it's up to her to figure out a way to forgive her mother and make amends with her grandmother. Ultimately, she learns that a dad is always a dad, no matter how far away. Although even preteens may shake their heads at the way Sunny refuses to accept a new reality (and cringe at her plots to get her way), they'll appreciate how she gradually discovers that she needs to deal with things the way they are and that even if circumstances change, she can still count on the people around her to come through for her.