“We’re approaching Cat in the Hat level chaos and no one’s
even had breakfast yet.”
When
the death of her father leaves her mother bereft and
incapacitated,
card shark Hallie Palmer returns home from college to raise
Hallie’s
eight younger siblings. Hallie’s older brother has a
scholarship and a
sensible major–which translates to free tuition and
desperately needed
future income for the family. So it’s up to Hallie to deal
herself in
as head of the chaotic household.
But even after the
invasion
of those well-meaning, casserole-carrying purveyors of
comfort the
local church ladies, Hallie’s in a downward spiral. Thank
goodness for
old friends like Bernard and Gil, now proud parents, who
keep Hallie
afloat with good humor, brilliant organizational skills, and
Judy
Garland’s most quotable quotes–not that life is entirely
peaceful now
that Bernard’s wise, willful, and delightfully outrageous
mother,
Olivia, is back from Europe with a big (and shockingly
young) surprise.
Through it all, Hallie discovers that life can
indeed turn on a
dime, and that every coin has two sides plus an edge. Just
because
beginner’s luck doesn’t always last forever doesn’t mean
you’re out of
the game.