I like young protagonists. "Bean" is our 13-yr old narrator; she and her older sister have to fend for themselves when their mother has a breakdown. They get help from their uncle and other extended family, and then the sisters get taken advantage of by a local hotshot with a lot of power. The reason I didn't love this book is because the guy they take to court, a real scoundrel, is such a one-dimensional character, and also some of the scenes don't feel fleshed out. This felt more like a YA novel.