ECLIPSE

It's the summer before she enters seventh grade and Trina is looking forward to lazy days with her best friend Miranda and her horse, Chico. But things begin to fall apart. Trina's father, who lost his job after a serious injury, is becoming stranger each day, angrily lashing out at his family for little or no reason. Money is already tight when he must shoot the calf he was planning to sell because it is born deformed. When Trina's mother, 48, announces she is pregnant, Trina is deeply shaken by the news, but her father must be hospitalized for depression. No sooner is he released than the baby is born, prematurely. On the anniversary of a night that holds loving memories for Trina and her father, he shoots himself. In this compact but powerful novel, Franklin ably points out the vulnerability of the young in the face of adult problems. Not only does Trina miss a summer of innocence, but she is forced to take on burdens beyond her years to keep the family from collapsing entirely. She is a memorable character with plenty of spunk; most young teenagers will identify with her—and some even may be inspired by her. (Fiction. 10-14)