Holt's first young adult novel, My Louisiana Sky, places smart Tiger Ann Parker center-stage in small-town Saitter, Louisiana, where her parents are known as retarded. With only her grandmother to comfort her, Tiger Ann faces the challenges of loving in spite of difficulties, standing up to the social ostracism she incurs because her parents are "different," and coming to terms with her roots.

In Mister and Me, Jolene Johnson holds tight to the memory of her dead father, even though she barely remembers him. Set in a rural Louisiana mill town in 1940, Holt's story chronicles Jolene's resistance to the changes Leroy Redfield brings to her life when he takes notice of Jolene's mother.

Jolene does not want things to change; she does not want a new father, and she most certainly does not want Leroy Redfield, who she calls "Mister," to take on that role.

But...