Summary

One day, when Brittany was ten, she was impatiently waiting for Jazz to open the bathroom door. But when Jazz finally opened the door, she was holding a crack pipe that she had found in the pocket of their mother’s jean shorts. Although Brittany was only ten, she knew what the pipe was from frequent references to drugs in popular culture and the “Just Say No” campaign in schools. Additionally, Brittany realized the pipe explained why things in their home – from Jazz’s Girl Scout cookie money to Billy’s toolbox and bow and arrow—had disappeared. The pipe explained other changes in the girls’ home life. Their mother had become increasingly agitated during the nights and constantly moved around the house, while Billy yelled and pleaded with her to stop or flushed drugs down the toilet.

The summer...