Diamonds in the Rough

I pulled out the picture Cole had given us...my gaze fell on the boy, my uncle. I thought about the sadness in his eyes and what he'd been through at such a young age. And I was shocked to see a bit of me, staring back.

After the sudden death of Sky's mother, Sky wants nothing more than to keep her and her two young sisters together. The solution may lie with a newly discovered uncle. But Cole's criminal history and his constant struggle to escape the past are not exactly the stable parental qualities that the authorities are looking for. When Sky and Cole strike a mutually beneficial deal to create an acceptable image, they both get more than they bargained for.

Children's Literature

Fourteen-year-old Sky Chambers has always helped look after her three younger sisters. With her mother living an unconventional lifestyle, and a father who left so long ago she can hardly remember him, that's just the way it is. When Sky's mother is killed in an automobile accident, however, the authorities want to tear apart what's left of her family. When the social services agency locates a long lost uncle, Sky sees her chance to keep her family together. But Uncle Cole is not what she bargained for. By promising Uncle Cole lawsuit money, Sky gets Cole to become their guardian on a trial basis. Leather pants, black hair to his shoulders, his body cover in chains, tattoos, and earrings, and driving a larger-than-life motorcycle-Cole is far from a model father figure. And where does he disappear to for hours every night? Eric Walters, an elementary school teacher and family therapist, writes a likable story for the disenfranchised without too much sugarcoating, including some good courtroom drama scenes. Sky learns not to judge by appearances, and she and her uncle discover in each other "A diamond in the rough."