Tallahassee Higgins — Mary Downing Hahn

Tallahassee was about as miserable as a twelve-year-old could be. She'd always lived with her beautiful, free-spirited mother, Liz, and she could do anything she pleased -- pig-out on junk food, veg-out on TV, forget about homework. Now Liz was off to live with Aunt Thelma -- and her “house rules.”

It was the worst. Liz promised to get her out of there as soon as she got settled in California. But it was Tallahassee, not Liz, who got settled...in a place where finding out about her mother's past helped her figure out her own future.