Kyleah's Tree by Janet Muirhead Hill, illustrated by Herb Leonhard Ages 9-12 204 pages Raven Publishing of Montana August 2008 Paperback     Eleven-year-old Kyleah lives on the Holcomb farm, a foster home she shares with two of the Holcomb’s own children, three other foster kids, and two newly arrived babies. It’s not that Aunt Jude and her husband aren’t decent folk, but their home is “too overrun with children for anyone to find peace and quiet,” and they aren’t her real family. Somewhere out there Kyleah has a twin brother who moved away with her father after her parents’ divorce. Now, with her mother dead, Kyleah dreams of the day she will see her twin again. Besides helping with various farm duties, Kyleah is expected to help care for the little ones. But when she makes a serious mistake with a baby suffering from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, things take a turn for the worse, leading Kyleah and foster-brother/friend Benjamin to set out on their own in search of their real families. So begins a two-month long journey filled with close calls, near misses, and eventually a reunion. But is it the one Kyleah has been dreaming of? Kyleah's Tree is the first book in a trilogy by author Janet Muirhead Hill. The second book, Kendall’s Storm, is the story of Kyleah’s brother. The third book, tentatively titled Kyleah and Kendall, is about their reunion and the challenges it brings. Hill pens an authentic portrayal of the struggles, both real and imagined, faced by a child living in a foster home. She gets right to the heart of the matter, making it easy for the reader to identify with Kyleah - who, like many children, just wants a place to belong.     web reviews   Niki Masse Schoenfeldt/2009 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)