Bran's teenaged-life is a whirl of poverty, neglect, and downright abuse, but she doesn't remember any other way. In Avalon, Zink has given us a brutal coming-of-age story that is as bizarre and funny as it is raw. While Bran's mother leaving her for a Buddhist colony may be a pivotal first loss, living in a lean-to working at her common-law stepdad's plant nursery gives Bran plenty of motivation to escape. Thank goodness for her flamenco-obsessed best friend and a handful of high school friends. When everyone except Bran leaves for college, she's got to re-evaluate where she's going. Bran's one of the strongest girls I've read and you'll be rooting for her the whole time.