What They Don't Know — Anita Horrocks

When Hannah was little she used to make her father repeat the nursery rhyme over and over. But she isn't little anymore and she's truly lost. No one, especially her dad, can reach her.

Kelly, Hannah's older sister, is pretty sure it all started at the science fair, where Hannah flew into a rage at her best friend, Kyle. She won't have anything to do with him anymore. Instead she's hanging out with a new, rough crowd of friends, ditching school and mouthing off to teachers when she does attend.

Soon Hannah is sneaking out at night and coming home drunk. Then the police are bringing her home and she's charged with breaking and entering. Hannah is spinning out of control, destroying her already fragile family.

In Hannah's secret box, Kelly discovers fragments of clues: notes from friends, letters, school reports, postcards, newspaper clippings. She begins to piece together the reason behind Hannah's shattered life. But nothing prepares her for Hannah's anguished explosion at their father, and the devastating secret she reveals.

The family does their best to pick up the pieces, but what will it take for Hannah to find herself again? And will her new friends let her go that easily?

Winner, 1999 Writers Guild of Alberta Book Awards, R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature

Winner, 2000 Red Maple Children's Choice Award, Ontario Library Association

1999-2000 Our Choice Star Selection, Canadian Children's Book Centre

On the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age List, 2000