AMAZING GRACIE

Gracie's woes are many: she's too practical to like her new stepfather Pete's get-rich-quick schemes; she wasn't told that they were moving to Salt Lake City until the last minute; she's saddled with the care of her new stepbrother, Sinjian. Her biggest concern by far, however, is that she will become like her mother, who experiences dark bouts of depression, for one of which she is hospitalized near the end of the book. With sensitivity and intelligence, this easy, readable novel describes how a 15-year-old comes to terms with issues of heredity, her own individuality, and the patched-together happiness of a modern family. Some of the minor characters (especially Pete) are too broadly drawn to be wholly believable; but Cannon finds sunshine even in the dim corners of Gracie's fears, presenting a clear-eyed heroine who manages not only to survive but to preserve her very fallible family. (Fiction. 12+)