When Rabble Starkey's grandmother saw her for the first time, she said: "Look at them sea-green eyes. Look at that ginger-colored hair. Lord, Lord, trouble lies ahead for that child." So she and Rabble's mother, Sweet-Hosanna, gave her a Bible name, Parable Ann, to stave off what trouble they could. Rabble has had her share of trouble, nonetheless, by the time she is twelve. Her father left her and her fourteen-year-old mother when Rabble was one month old. The years have been hard and uncertain. More than anything, Rabble is looking for stability, and she may have found it now, living with her mother and the Bigelows. Veronica Bigelow is twelve, too, and she's more than Rabble's best friend; she's like a sister. When illness takes Veronica's mother to a distant hospital for months, and Sweet-Hosanna must assume her role, something that feels like a family is formed. And for Rabble, it feels like forever. Lois Lowry has peopled a small Appalachian town with rich, realistic characters: Gunther Bigelow, the homeliest baby in Highriver; Millie Bellows, who spends her last lonely days staring at TV quiz shows and faded family photographs; and Norman Cox, whose world is one of weaponry. Among them Rabble is passing a year that will change her forever, and Lois Lowry is making an unforgettable statement about the nature of families and the value of growth, change, and love. - Jacket flap.