Teen Novel Shines Light on Foster Kids

Posted with permission from ParentMap. Written by Teresa Wippel.

Want to get a look inside the world of a foster child? The Last Chance Texaco, by Tacoma author Brent Hartinger, is a great read for both teens and adults.

Hartinger, himself a former group home counselor for troubled teens in Bellingham, tells the story of Lucy Pitt, a 15-year-old who has spent the past eight years moving from one foster home to another.

Lucy ends up at Kindle Home, a group home for the foster care system's most difficult cases. The kids who live there call it The Last Chance Texaco, because it's the last opportunity these teens have for redemption: One more slip-up means they are shipped to Rabbit Island, a high-security juvenile detention facility.

The book is more than a story about group homes, though. It is a fast-paced mystery -- someone is setting fires in the neighborhood and Lucy is determined to find the culprit -- that is sure to grab and hold the attention of any teen reader.

"I hope my book might give teenagers and adults some insight into the challenges that a lot of foster kids face, maybe see the world from a perspective they don't often encounter," Hartinger says.

The Last Chance Texaco, recommended for readers 12 and up, is a 2005 American Library Association "Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers" nominee.