Kat’s Promise

Kat is just twelve years old when her mother dies and her world is turned upside down. Suddenly an orphan, she is sent to live in her mother's childhood home with her bitter, wealthy aunt Paulina -- the same aunt who Kat believes caused her mother's death. Kat's aunt is colder than she could have imagined, and her "kindness" comes at a huge price. So begins Kat's eighth-grade year. It is a year of change, heartbreak, new discoveries -- and finding family where she least expects it. The one thing that keeps her going, even in her darkest moments, is the promise she made the day her mother died.

With an exceptional voice and haunting insight, Bonnie Shimko has written a story about coping with change, uncovering dark family secrets, and learning to let go. Kat is both wise beyond her years and frighteningly vulnerable -- but above all, she is wholly unforgettable.

"...Before I go to sleep at night in my aunt Paulina's house, I wish that God would strike her dead. Even though a wish is nothing more than asking the air for a favor, it's the best I can do. I can't say a genuine prayer because I'm not speaking to God. Besides, I don't think he'd be very happy if I came right out and asked him to kill somebody." Harcourt (Kate Harrison, editor).

Also by Bonnie Shimko:

Letters in the Attic -
Received Honorable Mention in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards (2002)
Won a Lambda Literary Award (2003)