Strays like us - Richard Peck

12 year-old Molly is the daughter of a drug addict. When her mum goes into a rehab clinic, Molly is sent to stay with a great aunt she's never met, in a small, mid-American town, Molly soon discovers that she's not the only one with a past she'd rather not talk about. Next door to her great aunt lives Will - whose father is rumoured to be in jail. At the library she meets Tracey, whose sheltered rich lifestyle is not as secure as it appears. And through her Great Aunt Fay, Molly meets Mrs Voorhees, a hypochondriac with the personality of Miss Haversham and the vanity of a film star. What lies behind all these peoples' lives is both shocking and tragic to discover, but although Molly misses her mother and counts the days till they're reunited, she slowly comes to realise she is not alone, and that, finally, she has found her home . . .