We Weren't Looking To Be Found

YA fiction

     "Yeah, well, leave it to Emmeline Rosemary Washington to care more about our community than she cares about her only daughter's happiness.  But that's par for the course around here, as is my insistence on ignoring her concerns.  My mother only cares about the Black community so much as it can make her look good and boost her political clout in the Dallas-Fort Worth region."

     As a child Dani had loved helping her mother with her political campaigns.  But as her mom climbed from school board to Dallas chief financial officer to city council she began to see her as a hypocrite, someone who puts personal prestige and power over public good.  She tries to talk to her mom, only to be told that the issues she's concerned about are too complex for her to understand.

     One evening Dani attends a charity event her parents are hosting, drunk and drugged.  Not such a good idea.  Especially since she passes out.  Especially since the local media gets a juicy story and runs with it.  Not surprisingly, her mom and dad aren't amused and are in serious damage control mode.

     "Then it hits me: the utter folly and stupidity of hope.  The utter folly and stupidity of me.  Because I never bothered to tell my parents I was auditioning again and that I hadn't abandoned my dream of going away to school."

     Camila lives to dance.  After failing to get into the prestigious Fieldbrook Academy of Performing Arts twice, she'd been invited to audition again by video.  She saved all her money to rent a studio.  After an agonizing wait she gets her acceptance email...

     ...Only her parents, sure that she's given up, had used the tuition money they'd put aside on home renovations.  Feeling that she no longer has anything to live for, she tries to commit suicide.  She's thwarted by the police who find her before it's too late and take her to the hospital.

     Dani and Camila, two high school students who never otherwise would have met, become roommates at PeachTree Hills, an inpatient psychiatric facility for adolescent girls. It's set on beautiful rustic acres and prides itself on nontraditional methods and sensitivity to diversity.  But both girls see and resent the control and limitations under all the careful orchestration.

     Besides offering up a riveting and engaging narrative of discovery and relationship, We Weren't Looking To Be Found explores adolescent issues most adults don't want to face: anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and self harm.  It's a must read for its target demographics and well beyond.

On a purrrsonal note, I'm back into my weekly routine.  I'm still mostly playing catch up with all the work that piled up during spring semester and Clean Sweep.  But I've also started making plans for the rest of summer break.  (Jules)

Which of course involves spending plenty of quality time with her best little cat in the world.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway