Flutie Moses, is a Native American girl growing up in Western Oklahoma who, in a reflection of the frustration around her, is so shy that she cannot speak. Her throat fills with saltwater--or hot lava--when she tries to speak in class or in front of anyone she's not close to. Flutie goes from 13 to 20 in these pages, struggling with her own fierce silence, her father and brother's dead-end business and her brother and their mother spending time in jail. Flutie initially turns to drugs and alcohol to escape but eventually reads a book that helps Flutie find her strength and eventually gain control of her speech and life, graduating from high school and going on to college. Highly recommended.