The Perfect Place

Treasure’s dad has disappeared and her mom sets out to track him down, leaving twelve-year-old Treasure and her little sister, Tiffany, in small-town Virginia with their eccentric, dictatorial Great-Aunt Grace. GAG (as the girls refer to her) is a terrible cook, she sets off Treasure’s asthma with her cat and her chain smoking, and her neighbors suspect her in the recent jewel thefts. As the hope of finding their dad fades, the girls and their great-aunt begin to understand and accommodate one another. When a final dash to their dad’s last known address proves unsuccessful, Treasure has to accept that he’s gone for good. When she goes back to Great-Aunt Grace’s, it is the first time she has returned to a place instead of just moving on. Convincing, fully realized characters, a snarky narrative voice, and laugh-aloud funny dialogue make The Perfect Place a standout among stories of adjustment and reconfigured families. |

"Though good family-in-transition stories are not rare, ones that authentically portray an African American experience are, and readers will find this one pretty near perfect." —Kirkus   "Harris weaves humor, a light mystery, and a tender coming-of-age story in this unforgettable novel." —School Library Journal   "Readers will find sly humor here as well as the pleasure of seeing justice done on several levels. A satisfying first novel with a realistic but heartening ending." —Booklist   "The small-town dynamics draw on recognizable characters without becoming stereotypes; Great-Aunt Grace, for instance, is full of surprises. Treasure herself is a resourceful and mature sixth-grader who stands up for herself and earns the well-deserved respect of the adults in her life." —Bulletin