Please Don't Go

Book excerpt: DeLaine is embarking on an intense and surprising journey through the junior high jungle of 8th-grade. Now an upperclassman of the newly minted and rebuilt Milam Junior High, she, along with her best friend, Bailey Rains, encounter many new, wonderful and sometimes heartbreaking lessons in life. DeLaine's new life seems to begin almost the minute she walks into the doors of her school! Unbelievably, she is no longer invisible or it seems a peasant, in the school's social hierarchy! DeLaine is finding that being part of the popular crowd is attainable to someone like her. She can't believe her luck and how different her days as an 8th-grader compare to her miserable days as a 6th-grader. With her unusual year being a 7th-grader at Samson High School over, she is free to explore in a completely different group of friends than what she has ever known. Her new group of friends includes Jax Garrett as an upstanding member in their midst. DeLaine's crush from 6th-grade seems to confound her as much as Kevin Strong. Freshman, Kevin, is no longer in the same school with DeLaine and she feels his absence even with the attention she's receiving from cute cowboy, Jax! Her home life continues to be a roller coaster ride of insanity with occasional peeks of hope sprinkled throughout. Her step-mother, Clarice, seems to be happy with the caliber of friends DeLaine now has, which makes life a bit more bearable. She had hopes that since she would no longer be in the high school, her step-brother, Geoffrey would calm down as much as his mother has towards DeLaine, but he continues to run hot and cold no matter what she does in regards to his best friend Kevin Strong. DeLaine's life takes an unexpected twist half-way through her school year and she learns what true heartbreak is after receiving devastating news! How will she survive the huge changes coming into her life?