Puffin, New York, 2003, 1^st pr thus.  ISBN 0-14-250186-7.  Soft cover, 200 pages.  Unread remaindered copy; light edge and cover wear, sticker ghost on front wrap.  ‘When twelve-year-old Casey came home to an empty apartment, she didn’t think much of it.  But when she wakes up the next morning and her stepmother, Sylvia, still hasn’t come home, she knows that something is wrong.  What has happened to Sylvia and will she ever come back?  Casey doesn’t know who she’ll turn to now – she doesn’t have any other family – and she’s afraid that the police will put her in foster care.  When the landlord’s teenage son offers to help, Casey is more than willing to accept.  Until she learns that his help comes at a price.  If Casey says yes, she’ll be breaking the law.  If she says no, she doesn’t know how she’ll survive.’ (from rear wrap)