Sara Zarr

Two acclaimed young adult authors join forces for a novel about growing up, leaving home, and that one fateful email that assigns ...your college roommate. The countdown to university has begun...When Elizabeth receives her first-year roommate assignment at the beginning of summer, she shoots off an email to coordinate the basics: TV, microwave, mini-fridge. She can't wait to escape her New Jersey beach town - and her mum - and start life afresh in California. That first note to Lauren in San Francisco comes as a surprise; she had requested a single. But if Lauren's learned anything from being the oldest of six, it's that you don't always get what you want, especially when what you want is privacy. Soon the girls are emailing back and forth, sharing secrets even though they've never met. With family relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives ...and each other.

From the best-selling author, Sara Zarr, comes the remarkable story of what it means to be a family, and the many roads we can take to become one. Jill MacSweeney just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends - everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's trying to replace a lost family member with a new one. Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's l ike to grow up unwanted - to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy falls pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. But will she ever find someone to care for her too? As their wo rlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy - or as difficult - as it seems.

Ever since her dad died, Jill has drifted away from those she loves. Now her mom wants to adopt a baby, replacing their lost family member with a new one. And what's worse...the teenage mother, Mandy, is moving in with them before the birth. A remarkable story of what it means to be a family, and the many roads we can take to become one.