Author(s): Diana Hendry

Children Fiction

Foster mother Megan lives in a rambling house above teh river with her "jumbily", a jumble of people trying to become a family. Anna, 12, fantasises that her alcoholic mother is a famous actress; Raymond, 10, will not speak to anyone and his mother rarely visits; easily scared Sam is lame and has been rejected by his family; and Brent is a tearaway teenager beyond the control of his intellectual father. The children test Megan's devotion to the limit as they also become involved with a mysterious woman who "guards" the river. Hendry's very realistic characters come to life in this compassionate and thought-provoking story for 12-year-olds and up.