Ritzy's life drastically changes when her impulsive mother leaves to take a self-discovery journey alone, and social services shows up in her stead. Ritzy is shocked to discover that she's going into foster care with the same woman who cared for her as an infant. The woman lives in an exclusive island town, which, on top of living under someone else's roof and rules, is another adjustment for Ritzy. However, as she makes friends, gets a job, and spends time with the handsome boy next door, she finds it's easy to leave her hard-knocks life behind. Yet, when her Mom returns expecting to get her daughter back, Ritzy must find a way to balance what she wants with whom she wishes to keep in her life. Morrill lets the likable Ritzy be herself through all her personal upheavals and realizations, and at no time dictates whom she should be. Give this to readers who want a story about a girl who finds herself in situations that test her character but who maintains her dignity.--Jeanne Fredriksen Copyright 2010 Booklist

When her spacey mother leaves the country on a spiritual retreat, Maritza--a practical, affable seventeen-year-old--finds herself spending the summer on a Florida island with her former foster mother. Maritza feels torn between two different lifestyles, two mothers, and two boys. Compelling friendships, complex family struggles, a thoughtful narrator, and a well-drawn setting will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen. (c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Seventeen-year-old MaritzaRitzyis used to her flaky mom's ever changing pseudo-spiritual obsessions, but things take an unexpected twist when she embarks on a voyage to Mexico, leaving Ritzy behind.To her mom, this is encouraging her daughter to find her own path. To the state of Florida, this is child abandonment. Ritzy, who is white, finds herself removed from her apartment and placed in the system, fortuitously landing with a loving foster mom in an affluent island community. Ritzy navigates the shift in her identity that comes with this move from strip malls and concrete to country clubs and beach bonfires. Her African-American best friend and Indian-American crush feel a world away in this community that seems to be homogeneously white, as indicated by the sudden lack of racial descriptors. She also grapples with a family secret revealed by her entree into foster care. Ritzy starts to settle when sparks fly between her and Spencer, the privileged yet troubled boy next door. When her mom returns, Ritzy faces a tough choice between the life she has and the life that's possible. Family drama, romance, and Ritzy's scrappy charm provide enough intrigue to keep readers turning the pages, though no new territory is explored in any depth. Its portrayal of life in the American foster care system bears little resemblance to reality.An escapist fantasy of upgraded family and financial circumstances. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.