Sixteen-year-old Hallie Palmer has one thing in mind.  She wants to make it to Vegas.  Hallie is the second oldest child of seven children.  Believe it or not, number eight is on the way!  Hallie liked to gamble.  She was saving money to buy a car to get to Vegas but lost it on a bad bet at the track.  She has been permanently kicked out of the casino.  She is no longer on the soccer team for skipping school too many times.  Talk about a streak of bad luck!

Hallie decides it is time for a change.  She answers an ad in the paper and gets the job as a yard person at the home of Olivia Stockton who is known as being a little eccentric.  Also living in the house is Olivia's son, Bernard and his lover, Gil. 

Hallie now has a new family.  It is here with this family that she starts to learn many things about life!

The author has written a charming, heart-warming book.  This book has a great story combined with several pages of humor.   The author does an excellent job of making the eccentric Stockton family seem real.  This book will be a joy to read for anyone from the teenager to the grandmother.  This is a fun read so be sure to add it to your reading list!

REVIEWED BY NANCY EATON

DO NOT REPRINT WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE REVIEWER, NANCY EATON