Missing Pieces — Norma Fox Mazer

Jessie's father has always been a missing piece of her life but if she were to find him, how would he feel about her? Jessie Wells thinks four is a good number. Things with four sides are sturdy and strong. A box, a chair, a room with four walls. But ever since the day Jessie's dad left, Jessie, her mother, and Aunt Zis have been a triangle three-sided, though solidly linked. Jessie has heard the story: Her beautiful young mother had married a prince who disappeared one day, so she had raised her daughter with the help of Aunt Zis. But lately, the picture in Jessie's mind seems incomplete. Who is James Wells? she wonders. He must be more than just a deadbeat dad who deserted his wife and child, and Jessie is determined to find out, even if she has to call every Wells in the phone book and there are a lot of them. But if Jessie finds her father and asks him all her questions, will she like the answers?