A Smidgen of Sky (review)

Ten-year-old Piper Lee is not happy at all that her mother is planning to get remarried. Ben, her mom's fiancé, is okay, but he's not like Piper's dad, an adventure-loving pilot who died in a rescue flight attempt when Piper was six; Ben's daughter, Ginger (also ten), is a real pain as well. The wedding looks like a done deal until Piper goes online to find Ginger's mother (who left her husband and child years ago), unleashing trouble that threatens to break up Ben and Piper's mom as well as sadden Ginger. The internet also leads Piper to someone who claims to have information about her dad's crash—his body was never recovered—but she learns that not everyone online is who they claim to be. Piper finally realizes she must try to patch up things between her mom and Ben, but before they can work it all out, there's an inmate revolt at the prison where Ben is a guard and he is taken hostage for a day. Winget's characters are likable, working class folks with believable pasts and problems; Ben is particularly well drawn as a blue-collar guy with a slightly short fuse who nevertheless works hard to relate to Piper. Piper's voice is authentically youthful, as are her questionable decisions, and plenty of kids will find common ground with her as she struggles with her mother's remarriage and with the fact that her father is gone for good.