Like a number of other fictional heroines, Deena Livingston retreats to the North Carolina mountains after her heart is broken in the big city.  Deena plans to keep to herself as she sorts out her life, but her late grandfather has made other plans for her.  Deena can have Grandpa Ernest’s cabin and a small inheritance if she works six months in the after-school and summer programs that grandpa funded at the local Presbyterian church.  Teaching cooking to preteens takes Deena into new emotional territory.  Learning about the troubled histories of these children and seeing their potential prompts Deena to put her own problems into perspective.  Her growth is helped along by two brothers, Jonas and Zack, one of whom provides the romantic interest.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.