Unexpected Findings

Twelve-year-old La’Teesha Baxter (Tess) wakes up in a hospital with her head bandaged, her mother missing, and no memory of the previous twenty-four hours.  She is tossed into the foster system, and after suffering repeated abuse over the next year, she finally runs off to live on the streets.  Now thirteen, she is struggling to survive on her own when she meets Irv, an eighty-five-year-old widower with a hoarding problem and a reluctance to leave his house.  The two soon find that each can provide the other with what they most need, and she temporarily moves in.  Tess wants shelter while she looks for her mother.  Irv is fending off his son’s attempts to move him out of his home.  When Irv has a stroke and Tess disappears, the tension rises. Finalist (First Novel): 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Midwest Book Review: Unexpected Findings [is] a poignant literary work that at first seems directed to young adults (protagonist La’Teesha Baxter is a teenager.)  However, … its story of homelessness, connections, assault, trust, and recovery explore very adult themes that will appeal widely, from mature young adults into adult circles.  Those who like their stories poignant, realistic, and complex will relish the encounters between Tess and Irv.

D. DONOVAN, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review