seventeen and homeless.

I have read dozens of Melody Carlson books. She is one of my favorite authors, I just love how real she is. I know for a fact that she does her research, and even though her novels may be fiction, a lot of the time they are based on a real person. It's scary to think about, because Melody Carlson writes about a lot of tough issues - mental illness, drug abuse, rape, being homeless, and so on.

Forgotten is Carlson's latest young adult fiction novel about a 17-year-old girl named Adele Porter who lives with her very unpredictable mother, Carlene. Carlene does not have the best track record keeping jobs, or keeping sane. She is bipolar, and Adele never knows when she is going to snap. One day she comes home and her mother tells her they are moving to a new town because she got a new job. No questions asked, off they go.

Carlene uses her pay advance to get things for their new apartment, buys Adele new clothes, and Adele thinks that maybe her life will actually be normal. She starts her new school, falls in with a popular group, and things start looking up. After a few weeks Adele notices that her mother is late for work, and comes home early. She is a smart girl, she knows what her mother is capable of, so she gets a part-time job working at a nursing home, just in case.

After a fight, her mother leaves her with a note saying she needs some space. Adele goes on living her life as normal as possible, lying to her new friends about her mothers whereabouts. After a few days, she is kicked out of the apartment for not paying the rent, and is forced to live in an old black van (which was left by her mothers new boyfriend). Adele doesn't want to tell anyone that she's homeless because she is still a minor, and doesn't want to be put into foster care.

The lies she tells to get by keep adding up, and it's only a matter of time before that ticking time bomb blows. Just when you think Adele's life couldn't get any worse, it does. Just when Adele has a little hope, it's lost. She doesn't know a lot about God, but she is sure he doesn't care much about her if he's letting all these terrible things happen. But as always, God has a plan.