Twelve-year-old Alice has albinism and, though partially sighted, is effectively blind. This makes navigating her new hometown of Sinkville ich everyone calls Stinkville because it houses a smelly paper mill xt to impossible. Fortunately, her grumbling older brother is there to take her to the public library, which becomes a home away from home and is where she makes a new friend in Kerica. Meanwhile, Alice's mom is suffering from a recurring bout of depression, and her brother is desperately unhappy, wanting to return to Seattle. Anxious to fit in, Alice decides to enter an essay contest called "Sinkville Success Stories." But what to write about when she can't even find her way around town? And what is wrong with her little dog, Tooter? And will her parents send her to a school for the blind? Yes, there's a lot going on in Vrabel's gentle story of a determined girl's efforts to overcome the long odds challenging her. But the author handles her material well and crafts a story that is both informative and gripping.

Gr 4-7 Born with albinism, Alice has only 20/200 vision with glasses. Before moving to Sinkville, aka Stinkville, her near blindness wasn't a problem. Having grown up in Seattle all her life, she knew everyone and knew her way around. With no baseline knowledge of Stinkville, no friends, and her family too busy coping with their own problems to help her, Alice must find her own way. When a writing contest offers her a chance to prove she can do anything, Alice and her dog, Tooter, set out to find their own place in their new home. Will they succeed? Will they win the contest? Will she make new friends? Alice is a realistic and easy-to-relate-to character. The dynamics that develop between her and the townsfolk easily draws readers into Alice's new world. The author does a great job of mixing humor with more serious topics like depression, disability, and old age. Readers who enjoy realistic fiction and humor will find much to appreciate. VERDICT An engaging middle grade read for most library collections. Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT