Poppy's desire to find her birth mother, an event which she is certain will transform her life into that of a fairytale princess, overrides all her other concerns. Her relationship with her adopted mother is completely overlooked in place of a relationship that doesn't exist. Instead, Poppy punishes her mother for not being a "real" mother by leaving Vancouver for her father's house. Poppy's move does not go easily. Her stepmother, Calypso, is pregnant and makes ends meet by sewing quilts. Poppy is asked to pitch in by babysitting her step-brother, Sandeep. At one point, Poppy muses that she should just walk around looking for someone whom she resembles. When she becomes acquainted with Becca Jell, one and one quickly become six. Foreshadowing in Poppy and Becca's meetings is not subtle and might bore more astute readers who will be certain of the story's outcome long before the end of the book. Scenes with Becca and Rakel, her caregiver, are overly melodramatic but they are balanced by the sweet and slowly developing relations in the Raspberry House. Readers will enjoy the relationships that develop between Poppy, Calypso and Sandeep, relationships which allow Poppy to realize that she is part of a family after all.

Recommended.