Moonpie and Ivy

Moonpie and Ivy by O'Connor, Barbara. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780374350598.

A girl abandoned by her mother discovers the feeling of family Pearls mother, Ruby, just up and left her with Aunt Ivy, whos a complete stranger to Pearl. "Your mamas done gone off the deep end," Ivy says, and Pearl wonders if shell ever come back - Ruby has always been wild and irresponsible. So Pearl is stuck with Aunt Ivy, and Moonpie, the neighbor boy whose mother doesnt want him, either, and John Dee, Aunt Ivys Beau. But these three people seem to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, in a way that Pearl cant comprehend, and she feels left out. As she starts to understand what connects them, and how much she wants to be a part of it, Ruby appears. With a vividly depicted setting, emotional truth, and a distinctly Southern voice, Barbara OConnor shows how Pearl develops a whole new notion of what she wants, and what she deserves.