Zoey And The Screaming Monkeys (eBook)

It's always total chaos as seventh-grader Zoey cares for her much younger brothers and sister after school every day while her mom works her shift at the local pizza parlor. They all live with her mom's boyfriend Lenny and his dad in Lenny's trailer. When Zoey gets on the bus to school every day, she feels relieved to be away from the hubbub.

Lenny and her mom have a tough relationship, and life for Zoey and her siblings swings quickly back and forth from fresh meat and tasty snacks to an empty fridge and no electricity. And Fuchsia, Zoey's only friend, has her own issues, always moving with her mom to new apartments to save money on rent. Zoey tries to fly under the radar at schoolno one expects anything of her, so why should she even try? But Zoey's teacher, Ms. Rochambeau, keeps finding opportunities to try to "encourage" her. Zoey wishes she would just leave her alone. What difference could anything make now?

But the smallest actions can make a big impact, and the tiniest seed, once planted, can grow into something beautiful. When being forced into an after-school activity leads Zoey to see her mother's relationship more clearly, it's up to Zoey to choose: Will she reach out to the hand being extended to her and open herself up to hope?This debut novel is a close, personal look at life on the edges of society, through the eyes of one girl just trying to find her way forward.