No Matter What
Fifteen-year-old Jane, part of a family of nine, is caretaker to four of her younger sibs and all that goes with the job. It's a story of losses for Jane, her mom being the first and biggest loss, and how she deals with her grief, overcomes the lack of peace and privacy, not having friends, and how she manages to come up with a solution to a nearly impossible dilemma and timetable thrust upon her by her father. Interaction between the sibs and those between them and the Spanish caretaker hired to help that speaks no English nor drives, makes conversing and life more complicated. New friends come into her life unexpectedly, one that has as many siblings as Jane, and others, all disappearing too quickly. She tackles her problems head on, but when things are about to fall apart for her, a surprise comes along in the end. (And find out what MSD stands for in this story.)
["I barely have enough space to sleep in, let alone someplace to study or think without noise."]
["It seems to me you're looking out more for them than us, than me. I'm not taking over for Marty and Kevin. You'll just have to find someone else to take care of YOUR kids!"]
["Hello, I'm Jane. Who are you?"
"Yo soy la ayuda."
"I don't understand Spanish or speak it. You don't speak English, ingles?"
"No, no habla ingles."]