Driving with dead people

At nine years of age, Monica Holloway developed a fascination with the local funeral home. Her father's bouts of violence, her mother's selfishness, and her siblings' betrayals drove her to find safety elsewhere. She becomes fast friends with Julie, whose father is the town mortician. As they grow older, Monica and Julie drive the hearse to the airport to pick up bodies. Although she has to continue to cope with her dysfunctional family, Monica never gives up and her book reflects this.