Picked up in a LFL in Leominster, Massachusetts. I thought it was set in Australia, till I read the title more carefully!

Not sure where I actually picked up this book. It's really terrific: I can see why it won the Newberry Medal in 2001. This is the story of a girl who has to travel from Chicago to small town Illinois during the Great Depression because her family can't afford to keep her. She ends up going to stay with her grandmother, who is a unique person and from a very different background: and pretty scary, too. The adventures are completely believable and appropriate for a 15 to 16 year old girl, and the book is a great way to learn about the 1930's and what people had to do to survive when money was so tight and today's social welfare programs didn't exist yet. People were thrown back to their pioneering roots, and this book helps you get a great sense of the time without being dull. Instead, it's fun and funny. Highly recommended. I'll save for an upcoming Bookbox, unless I get a request for it.