It's been almost a year since the automobile accident, but Crystal is still struggling with the belief that it was somehow her fault; her fault that her father is dead, her fault that she is confined to a wheelchair. Now Crystal must deal with yet more grief. Her grandmother's recent death has left Crystal and her mother with the painful talk of sorting through Gram's possessions - and facing their own memories. It's then that Crystal's life takes another turn. Her mother is suddenly offered an art exhibition at a gallery in New Mexico - an opportunity she can't afford to turn down. While she's away, Crystal is left in the care of an eccentric friend of her grandmother's named Zola. But Zola, Crystal soon discovers, is suffering memory loss. And one day she disappears. Has she wandered into the life-threatening heat of the Arizona desert? Has she simply gone on a trip with her brother? Or is there something more sinister involved? A series of alarming incidents convinces Crystal that she must find Zola as quickly as possible. Two mysteries escalate simultaneously in Marianne Mitchell's vividly written novel. The question "Where's Zola?" forces Crystal to confront another equally baffling question: Now that her life has changed so dramatically, who is Crystal?
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Once upon a time I was a teacher with assignments ranging from first grade to college level. Those were fun jobs but also lots of work. When I started writing stories for children I discovered a new profession and a new passion. As a bonus, I now have a good excuse not to be a total grown-up. Over the years I've been fortunate to publish nine books and about two hundred stories and articles in children's magazines such as Highlights for Children and Highlights High Five.
My picture books include Maya Moon (a Mexican folktale), Joe Cinders (a Cinder-fella tale), and Gullywasher Gulch (a tall tale). As an Arizona native, I love using the west as a background in my stories. Finding Zola is a mystery set in southern Arizona near Tucson. A second mystery, Firebug, is set among the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. My anthology, Windows of Gold, offers a variety of short stories: adventure, mystery, animals, fantasy, and folktales. Most of these stories were originally published in Highlights for Children. I've also dug into my own family history for story material. My latest project, A Promise Made, is a young adult novel inspired by a long, lost great auntie with a mysterious past. It's set in the mining town of Silver Plume, Colorado in 1884.
Although I now write full time, I still enjoy coming to schools and talking to kids about books and writing.
