When JFK Was My Father — Amy Gordon

It's 1963 and thirteen-year-old Georgia decides to pretend that JFK is her father, certain that he won't let her down - unlike her own father, who is too busy with work and a love affair to pay much attention to her. Georgia's world is turned upside down when she and her mother leave their home in Brazil and return to the United States, where Georgia is immediately packed off to a boarding school. At school Georgia fails almost all of her classes and feels as if she'll never fit in with the other girls. But as time passes, and with the help of her English teacher, some friendly voices, and her own growing self-awareness, Georgia begins to realize her self-worth and the true significance of her three most treasured possessions: a pebble from her friend Tim, her stamp collection, and her photograph of JFK. She also discovers many truths about the people in her life.