42 Miles by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

42 Miles by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer is JoEllen's story, told through her own free-verse poetry and pictures, On week days she is Ellen and lives in Cincinnati with her mother, while on weekends she is Joey and stays 42 miles away on her father's farm. As Ellen, she is a 12 year old school girl who enjoys a very set schedule with her mother - complete with take out menus and evening activities neatly planned out. She and her bet friends, Tamika and Annie (who think only hicks live in the country), are plagued by typical school assignments and "mean girl" bullies. On weekends, however, she becomes Joey. She and her father experiment with cooking meals and ingredients and play games. She spends time horse-back riding and hanging out with her cousin, Hayden (who thinks the big city is filled with filth and crime). 42 miles is the story of Joey/Ellen finding herself and becoming JoEllen again.

This was a quick and easy read because of the free-verse format. I think it would be really appealing to anyone who has been through a divorce. I felt triumphant on JoEllen's behalf when she began making changes in both parts of her life, no longer allowing her physical location to define her. It was enlightening to see her working to become the person she truly wanted to be in all aspects of her life. This author also wrote Reaching for the Sun, one of my all time favorite books!