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Angel in My Pocket

Angel in My Pocket
By Ilene Cooper
Feiwel and Friends, 2011. 278 pages. Fiction.

This story centers around a group of students at a performing-arts school in Chicago. They each have their own set of life's worries. Bette's mother has passed away, and Bette becomes withdrawn and isolated because of her grief. Joe is a latchkey kid with a single mom, and their family has come upon hard times financially. Andy and Vivi are twins. Andy cares for and protects his sister, who has started homeschooling because of uncontrollable asthma and subsequent weight gain from the medicine. These four are not strongly connected, but become so after a mysterious angel medallion finds its way into each of their pockets. The coin brings luck and guidance to whoever is holding it. I liked this book because it has an uplifting, hopeful message. Ilene Cooper's smooth writing features believable situations and honest characters. This is a realistic novel, but has just the right amount of magic dust.

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