Behind the Label

Gloria, an impulsive, naïve and likeable teen with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), tries to keep her family together while their mother's addictions threaten a move to foster care. Willa, an older teen with a learning disability (LD), wants to play in a rock band where her gifts truly shine, but her mother's controlling and perfectionistic personality -- and Willa's increasingly abusive boyfriend -- cause her unhappiness. When Gloria and Willa are partnered in a school club, they soon come to appreciate and depend on each other in a world that at times seems counter to their dreams. This is the fifth book in Lorna Shultz Nicholson's One-2-One series about a diverse group of fictional teens connected through a Best Buddies high-school program.