Shadow Girl

This novel for ages nine and up is the story of a resilient young girl who struggles as the daughter of an alcoholic father and an absentee mother. Left alone to fend for herself for days at a time, she is observed by a kind and compassionate saleswoman at the mall she retreats to every day after school to avoid going "home." The saleswoman gains her trust and takes action into her own hands by reporting the girl's situation to social services. She is placed in foster care, where she dreams of being reunited with her dad, despite the deprivations in her life with him. The relationship between the girl and her foster mother is painful, and the girl's spirit disintegrates. Eventually, the saleswoman "adopts" the girl into her caring family, whose love and support enable her, finally, to believe in herself.

Born and raised in Toronto, Patricia Morrison traveled extensively before settling down in Langley, British Columbia. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University, where she majored in English and Women's Studies. She worked for fourteen years in child welfare for the Ministry of Children and Families and was a community activist for more than twenty years. She is married with children. Shadow Girl is her first book.