Fourteen-year-old Apple has one memory from early childhood: her mother leaving when she was three. Now, 11 years later, her mother, an actress, is back. Eagerly departing the home of the strict grandmother who raised her and moving in with her mother, Apple discovers she has a little sister, Rain, who is 10 and disturbingly convinced her doll is real. Apple then meets Del, a boy she regards at first as a nuisance but gradually comes to like. In the meantime, Rain can't go to school, where she is bullied because of her obsession with her doll, and so Apple must stay home to mind her sister while their scatterbrained, self-absorbed mother auditions. And then Rain goes missing, and it's up to Apple to find her if she can. British author Crossan (Resist, 2013) has written a sometimes too facile and predictable novel with, in the mother, a character who approaches stereotype. Nevertheless, her story is involving, and Apple and Rain are engaging, sympathetic characters. This one is for readers who dote on happy endings.

Gr 7-10 British teen Apple Apostolopoulou has been raised by her grandmother after her mother went off to America 11 years ago to try to make it as an actress. Thankfully, there's never been any question about living with her father and his wife Trish, whom 13-year-old Apple can't stand. But it drives Apple crazy that her grandmother keeps such a tight rein on her, making her attend church every Sunday, picking her up from school every day, and not allowing her to hang out with the girls from her class. So when Annie returns and asks Apple to live with her, Apple eagerly agrees, hoping to discover the truth about why her mother left without her. But things don't turn out the way she expects; she discovers that her mother doesn't live alone. Apple has a sister named Rain, and Annie can't look after herself, let alone her two daughters. The protagonist's pride keeps her from asking for help, until Annie disappears for two days. This is an enjoyable YA novel, but a lack of character motivation and development make it less appealing to more seasoned readers. VERDICT A charming, but additional story, suitable for younger teens. Marlyn Beebe, Long Beach Public Library, Los Alamitos, CA

Apple, whose "real" name is Apollinia Apostolopoulou, lives with her Nana, after her mother left her years ago. Each day is the same routine: wake up, go to school, complete her schoolwork, get picked up by Nana, and go home. Next day, it starts all over again. One night, Apple's mom shows back up, and Apple decides that her mother's way of life is far better than the one that she is living with her grandmother. Nana is vehemently against Apple leaving her home, and forbids her to do so, but Apple stands up to her grandmother and leaves with her mother, Annie, to have the type of mother-daughter relationship that she has dreamed about for so long. Once living with her mother, Apple learns that she has a half-sister, Rain, whom she begins "raising," as their mother is an actress, frequently absent. Apple learns that while Nana's rules were sometimes hard to live with, the comfort and love that she received were far better than the life with her still-missing mother.While full of occurrences and circumstances that are troubling for youth today, Apple and Rain reads easily, especially for younger readers. The story will be reassuring for those readers who are in similar situations, especially when Apple learns of the strength she possesses, but was not aware of, until she had to be.Beth Green.