Wood, Marcia

As Hilary's home life deteriorates after her family's move to the country, her adventures with the book characters she reads about increase to the point where she knows she must learn to control her talents and involve herself more in the real world.

Jane's letters from her sister Julia, an aspiring writer living in New York City, help Jane deal with the pressures of growing up.

Fifteen-year-old Jamie, who has an alcoholic father, spends the summer working for an eccentric women neighbor and searching for the true identity of the local but elusive author of the detective novels featuring his hero Jim McGwynn.