Twelve-year-old Mel and her mother Cecily have bounced around from one place to another since Mel was very young, and the place they've been living for the past two months is the worst Mel remembers. So, when Cecily wakes her up at 3:39 in the morning, shoves a pile of clothes and bedding into Mel's arms, and hustles her out to the car, Mel is glad to leave. Cecily announces that they are going home, back to the town where Cecily grew up and where Cecily's mother Gladys still lives. Mel envisions a warm and welcoming grandma who will bake cookies and wrap her in a loving embrace, but the reality is much different. When Mel and Cecily arrive at Gladys' apartment, Gladys refuses to open the door. Cecily and Mel live for a while in their broken-down car, parked near the river off the side of the highway, and Mel stands on the corner and sings to earn a little spare cash. But one day, Cecily doesn't return to the campsite. What will become of Mel on her own?

This was a fairly good book, though I had a few issues with some plot points. While the characterization was strong, I did find Mel a little too good to be true at times. Also, while I can't help but like the fact that Mel retreats to the library for peace and safety because she loves to read, I had a hard time buying the idea that they would hire her, even for just a few hours a week, particularly to do preschool story time. Researching Canadian minimum age laws (I believe the story is set in Canada, though that's never overtly stated), I see that it is legal in some provinces to hire 12-year-olds, but it's such a strange thing to do that it just threw me out of the story. Those plot quibbles weren't enough to keep me from enjoying the book and finishing it off in one evening, though. If you enjoy stories about plucky children overcoming bleak circumstances like poverty and homelessness, this book is for you. ( )

Cyndi Sand-Eveland says she was inspired to write A Tinfoil Sky when she met a homeless girl and her father in Eugene Oregon. It was a brief exchange of spare change but it was enough to spark her novel about Mel and her mother facing homelessness while escaping an abusive boyfriend and not being allowed to come home.

Mel and her mother end up sleeping in their car, parked under a bridge until it's eventually towed. By then Mel has started to get to know a few people in her mother's home town. That gives her a small thread of support when her mother is arrested. Mel is ordered by the court to live with her grandmother, the very one who refused to open the door when they had first arrived.

Mel's life with her grandmother brings into question whether or not family is always the best decision. Her grandmother's bitterness is deep rooted in painful memories. As Mel counts down the days until she's reunited with her mother, she unravels some of the mysteries of her own life and her grandmother's bad mood.

Although the book deals with some tough issues: abuse, broken families, homelessness and drug use, Mel remains a positive character and the book has a hopeful ending. ( )

How could I not like a book where the most peaceful place a girl can find to relax and feel good is a library?
Mel has a messed up mom, and their plans to escape a bad existence don't work out the way they intend initially, but eventually Mel finds a home with an ornery grandmother who turns out to be alright. ( )

Mel thinks she might finally be able to call some place home after moving so often, but instead her grandmother refuses to open the door to Mel and her mother and they end up living in their car. Mel's mother is arrested for shop lifting and Mel ends up staying with her grandmother. The only place Mel finds peace is at the local library. An interesting coming of age story about a young girl who finds a home for herself. ( )

A good example of realistic fiction for YA.