The Ups and Downs of Jorie Jenkins

When Jorie visits her father for the first time after his heart attack, she hardly recognizes him. He's no longer the capable, humorous, strong person she's accustomed to being with. As the days pass, her mother spends more and more time at the hospital and can't provide Jorie with the support she's used to. Even her sister goes away for a week to visit their grandmother. Jorie simply has to adjust to her father's illness by herself. Slowly, painfully, she learns how to come to grips with her mother's absence. But she never loses her sense of humor and spirited interest in everything going on around her. And she learns that even though her father is changed after his heart attack, he's still special-just in a different way. This is a poignant, often funny story about growth, self-discovery, and love.