Lifting the Sky by Mackie D'Arge Ages 10-14 320 pages Bloomsbury USA March 2009 Hardcover     All Blue really wants is to have a family and somewhere to call home. She and her mother (Blue calls her “Mam”) have been on their own since Blue’s father left them when she was about four. It was about that time that Blue started keeping a journal. Now in her teens, Blue has managed to keep all of her journals, even though she and her mother have moved many times, usually with little or no notice. Blue can always tell when her mother is getting restless. Her job as a ranch hand suddenly becomes more about relationships than work, or she becomes frustrated trying to be treated equitably in this man’s world and just finds it easier to move on. This time the move takes them to a rundown ranch high in the mountains of Wyoming. Because it is close to the end of school, catching the bus is not an issue; living close to Indian lands is. The gentle, burly rancher who owns the ranch tells Blue stories about the Indians and their traditions. She is surprised to find that this place is very familiar - it resembles the images in her journals that she has been drawing for years that depict the home she wishes for. As Blue and her mother settle into this new location, Blue and her dog, Stewpot, make friends with a young Shoshone boy named Shawn who is on his own adventure. Together, he and Blue will learn to deal with wildlife and human life, when things don’t always work out the way you think they should. This is a great read for the middle-school crowd and will capture both boys and girls. It has the flavor of Old Yeller with a happier ending. Lifting the Sky is destined to be a 21st-century classic.     web reviews   Joyce Rice/2010 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)