Waiting to Disappear — April Young Fritz

Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Mullens, better known as Buddy, should be having a wonderful summer. Everybody in her small Southern town is getting ready for the Fourth of July celebration, and she's about to start high school. However, life for Buddy isn't that simple. Two years ago, her older brother was killed in a car accident, and since then her mother hasn't been the same. Little by little, Buddy's mom has been slipping into her own dark world, and finally suffers a breakdown. Despite Buddy's best efforts, she can't break through her mother's sad haze and can only watch as her mom asks to be driven to Moodus Meadows, a place for people with emotional problems. How could her mother just leave her? Buddy wants her mom back, and one way or another, she's going to make it happen. With a little humor and a lot of love, Buddy Mullens might get through it all and learn just how strong she really is. She might even have the best summer of her life.