In the summer of 1983, June's father recently died of AIDS, and June's mom isn't just grieving, she's falling apart: The illness and death of June's dad's exacerbated her mom's mental illness. Now her mom won't leave the house, while her overwhelming fear of germs-she insists everything, including June, be cleaned with bleach-dominates their life. June, often hungry, only gets reliably fed when her Uncle Toby comes by with weekly groceries-an intrusion her mom is terrified of. When Ziggy moves in nearby with his grandmother, June covertly watches them, imagining what it would be like to live within the love of Nana Jean's home. June and Ziggy, both branded as outcasts in the neighborhood-Ziggy for his long hair and appearance, June because of her mother's strange behavior and how her dad died-become friends, often escaping into a shared world of their imaginations. For June, this is respite from her increasingly desperate situation at home. For Ziggy, it's respite from uncertainty: His mom is struggling, too, with a boyfriend who hits her whom she can't bring herself to leave. A book filled with pain is also marked by the resilience of June and Ziggy (both white), and the welcome, necessary relief of adults who figure out that they need to step up and step in. (Ages 9-12)