In Kinship, Georgia, a 15-year-old Pert is aching for something more than the tiny community she's always known. Her circle of trailer park neighbors and her supportive mother and older brother aren't enough for Pert; she is lonesome for the father she has never met. But when Pert's Daddy suddenly returns to Kinship and sets her neighborhood spinning, Pert is forced to reassess her concepts of home, loyalty, family, and kin. "Pert Wilson learns an important distinction between kinship and family, the former a blood tie that remains nothing more than a given of nature unless it is accompanied by a shared sense of responsibility backed by action." - Houston Chronicle "A compelling, often humorous story of love and the true meaning of family…poignant and on target." - Booklist "A rich and remarkable story." - School Library Journal An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults