The Other Immigrants
Migratory Birds Thrill Enthusiasts in Late April, May

By Victoria Scott

Evanstonians who have not spotted a palm warbler or a redstart in a park or yard just may not be looking hard enough. This time of year thousands of such brightly colored birds light in our trees and lawns. But few people notice.

"Evanston is an incredible source of birds," said Beryl Nelson, a veteran bird watcher. The palm warbler and American redstart are just two among some 175 to 200 species of migratory birds that stop in our area en route from winter homes in the south to summer habitats in the northern United States and Canada.

Now is the ideal time to catch sight of these migrants. But it takes both patience and practice to see them, said Ms. Nelson and other members of the Evanston North Shore Bird Club.

Migration peaks here the last week of April and the first three weeks of May. Chicago and Evanston, located on the western edge of the ancient eastern flyway, provide welcome food and shelter for the migratory species – and abundant opportunity for enthusiasts to observe birds they will not see here at other times.

"This is the time bird watchers wait for," said Sue Robert.

Anticipating the season, Evanston Bird Club members Ms. Robert, Margot Merrick, Ms. Nelson and Mary Singh shared with the RoundTable some thoughts on the pleasures of bird watching – and how others might make it part of their lives.

All four suggested beginning with a good bird book. Roger Tory Peterson's "Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America" is their unanimous choice. Soft-covered and small enough to fit in a pocket, it has drawings rather than photos of the birds. Ms. Robert noted the advantages. A photograph captures just "one bird at a time," she said, and every bird is different. An artist's composite drawing "pulls together the most typical stances and colors…after seeing thousands."

Poised to spot spring's most exciting arrivals, Ms. Singh keeps a marker in the warblers section of her books (one in her kitchen, another in her car). And she records sightings by date so she knows when to expect a given species.

All the women agree: If you're serious [about bird watching], go with a group. "You have to be with someone helpful," Ms. Robert warns, or you might see nothing. Warblers, for instance, are tiny – only 4 or 5 inches long – and some species stay in the treetops. Besides, she says, experienced bird watchers are skilled with binoculars and are good listeners as well. "A good birder does 80 percent [of his or her identification] by ear," she says.

Margot Merrick said she began watching birds around her home in Wayne, Ill., "in the early 50s, when it was considered something for little old ladies in tennis shoes." Only after moving to the North Shore did she encounter members of the venerable Evanston North Shore Bird Club and "get in seriously," she said.

Now in her 80s, Ms. Merrick is looking forward to the club's weekly walks at the Skokie Lagoons during migration season. Open to non-members as well, the walks begin at the Willow Road parking lot just east of the Edens Expressway every Friday at 8 a.m. starting April 28. "We walk for two or three hours, depending on what we see," said Ms. Merrick.

Evanston has plenty of good observation sites. Perkins Woods, a 7.5-acre North Evanston forest preserve Ms. Robert called Cook County's smallest, is already witnessing the arrival of the first migrants, those from the southern states, she said. By May 6, Illinois Bird Count Day, sharp-eyed counters may find as many as 34 species of birds there. With its tree canopy and ephemeral wetland, Perkins Woods, along with the other Cook County forest preserves, offers migratory birds invaluable safety and respite amid a sea of Illinois corn and beans, Ms. Robert said.

Other good places to see birds are the grassy area behind the Grosse Point lighthouse and the area along the canal, said Ms. Singh. Ms. Nelson said she gravitates to the South Boulevard beach and the lakefront in the morning.

But a fascination with birds that began with "a magnificent blob of blue" in her back yard still draws her there, she said. "I reach for the coffee and look out the window." She fills three feeders – suet, millet and sunflower seed – in all seasons except summer. In her yard as she talked she counted migratory sparrows (not the invasive, year-round English variety), including chipping, field, song, swamp and fox; a towhee; a red-winged blackbird; grackles and cowbirds; and a gorgeous rose-breasted grosbeak.

When watching birds, "you're separated from the harried moments," she said. "You're in a different place." Perhaps, like her, "sens[ing] the enormity of creation," most birders are also interested in trees, wildflowers and the environment, she said. "It affects your politics," she said. "Your breadth of vision changes."

A redstart "like a falling leaf" taught Mary Singh to look. "It was there all along, and I hadn't seen it," she said. "If you have the patience to sit and watch," she promised, "you will see birds."

Contact the Evanston North Shore Bird Club by e-mail at info@ensbc.org or at P.O. Box 1313, Evanston, IL 60204

Easter Fun at the Ecology Center.

Hundreds of colored eggs and real live bunnies were the main attraction at the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Ecology Center last Saturday. About 50 kids participated in each of the two egg hunts, one in the morning and another in the early afternoon, and they all came away with more than a dozen eggs each.

Just as attractive as the egg hunt were the animals kept at the Ecology Center. In photo below, Santiago, Diego and Pable Ramos-Torrescano were captivated by the bunny, who can barely be seen in his outside cage.

Design Evanston Presents Awards

Bill and Eleanor Revelle (left) received an award for their solar house, designed by Ellen Galland of Rockwell and Associates (second from right) and constructed by Sturm Builders, Inc., Steve Sturm, center, is president of Sturm and John Cavelier, right, is lead carpenter.

Optima Views, the "orange balcony" condominium complex in downtown Evanston, is the most disliked as well as the favorite building among Evanstonians who took a survey offered by Design Evanston (DE) last summer. Dave Galloway, president of the not-for-profit group, spoke at the DE's annual awards ceremony at the Music Institute of Chicago on April 6.

Keynote speaker Patricia Suldana-Nakai, an urban designer and a juror for this year's awards, said, "Good design interprets the sounds of the city; in the evening it creates open space, that great pause in life….Design Evanston has the core values of optimism, courage and communication."

The Design Evanston awards not only recognized the design professionals for their high-quality work; they also commended the project managers and owners "who are willing to pay for quality design."

Awards were presented for exterior design, interior design and merchandising.

Evanston Girl Scout Services

By Ivy Sundell, Girl Scout Leader

A major thrust of scouting is to prepare girls to become active citizens. Younger girls in Daisy (ages 4-6) or Brownie (ages 6-8) troops can perform service activities at homeless shelters, retirement homes, and parks.

Last year one Brownie Troop planted flowers at Three Crowns Park retirement home; another troop made baby blankets for the Infant Welfare Society; and another cooked, served and cleaned up for the soup kitchen at United Methodist Church, and at another time made lunches for the Hospitality Hour for the homeless at St. Mark's Church.

The Evanston service unit organizes a "Have a Heart" project around Valentine's Day and has troops sing songs, play bingo, hand out cookies at nursing homes, and make tray favors for Meals on Wheels. In April a "Clean Up the Park" project is organized to clean and plant in Evanston parks.

By the time the girls are Juniors (ages 8-11), they learn to be proactive in providing service. They earn service awards by organizing and carrying out projects of their choice.

The Junior Aide Award encourages help for younger scouts. Marina Carsello, age 10, said "it was fun helping the Brownies because last year I was the one being helped." Her troop led two Brownie meetings to teach show tunes and make games and crafts for seniors at Oakwood Terrace Senior Center.

The Bronze Award involves 15 hours of service in a lengthy project that requires planning and coordination. For the Bronze Award last year, one Junior troop worked with children in the Headstart program; another troop baked 32 dozen dog biscuits for animal shelters; another planted a garden at James Park and delivered its produce to the soup kitchen at First Presbyterian Church every Friday; and another troop collected toys and books for Family Focus in Evanston and Rainbow House in Chicago.

Cadettes and Seniors (ages 11-18) can earn the Silver and Gold Awards that require 25 hours and 50 hours of service, respectively. Hannah Burson earned her Silver Award last year by leading 60 scouts and leaders at Eagle Cave, Wisc. She arranged the two-day trip, sent invitations, talked to leaders, coordinated meal tickets and gave safety instructions. She felt "the Silver Award was worthwhile because I put a lot into it." Jennifer Federer earned her Gold Award by starting a troop for physically disabled girls.

In September Evanston Girl Scouts held a food drive in response to Hurricane Katrina. They collected more than 3,000 pounds of food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which then sent food to affected areas.

Troops also participate on a global level. A Junior troop made a map of Iraq with pita bread as a lead-in to learn about its geography, religions and cultures. They made holiday cards for the U.S. troops and are now communicating with them via e-mail.

Ultimately the service experiences nurture strong leadership skills and a lifelong proclivity to help people at all times, which is part of the Girl Scout Promise.

As Mumps Cases in Illinois Rise, State Public Health Director Encourages Vaccination and Education

As Mumps Cases in Illinois Rise, State Public Health Director Encourages Vaccination and Education Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, state public health director, today announced Illinois has received reports of 72 cases of mumps, 35 confirmed and 37 probable cases so far this year.

Know the symptoms and how to protect yourself and your family.

Due to the unusually high number of cases in the state and an outbreak in Iowa totaling around 600 cases, Dr. Whitaker is reminding people to check their vaccination records to make sure both they, and their children, have been vaccinated, and also to continue good health practices.

"Mumps is about as contagious as the flu, so it's important to cover your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing, wash your hands often, don't drink from the same glass or share the same eating utensils as another person. If you know someone who has mumps or suspect someone may have the disease, restrict contact with them as much as possible. These are some simple, common-sense things you can do to avoid getting the mumps," said Dr. Whitaker. Mumps is an infection of the salivary glands caused by a virus. Symptoms include swelling of the glands close to the jaw, fever, headache and muscle aches.

Treatment options include aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and time. Vaccination is still the best option for avoiding mumps. Schools require entering students to be vaccinated at least once for mumps. It is recommended that children be vaccinated on or after their first birthday.

"Persons with mumps are usually considered infectious from about three days before the symptoms begin until about nine days after the onset of the swelling of the salivary glands," said Dr. Whitaker.

The average incubation period for mumps is about 18 days. At this time, the cause of the outbreak in Iowa, and the increased number of cases in Illinois, is not known.

For more information on mumps you can log onto www.idph.state.il.us

Robotic da Vinci S Surgical System

By Anna Mussa-Ivaldi

There is a robot at Evanston Northwestern Hospital. It is not the kind of robot seen in films – a humanoid that moves jerkily and dispenses endless pearls of wisdom and knowledge in a monotone. The robot at Evanston Hospital is silent and stationary and has four arms. It is a complex tool that assists Dr. William K. Johnston III, M.D., Director of Lapara-scopy and Minimally Invasive Urology, in performing prostate cancer surgery.

The robotic surgical device is called da Vinci S Surgical System and is a product of the California-based company Intuitive Surgical. By manipulating three of its long arms and viewing the operating field enlarged by a three-dimensional camera held by the fourth, Dr. Johnston is able to perform prostate surgical procedures making only tiny 1-2 cm incisions. "Prostate surgery is performed in small areas," said Dr. Johnston, "and the seven degrees of freedom of the da Vinci system's robotic arms allow me major accuracy in, for instance, preserving the nerves." He also underlined the importance of the three-dimensional camera. "We are now able to remove entirely, and exactly, what we want to remove, thanks to the magnifying power of the 3-D camera and the higher definition achieved through the fiber optics." The da Vinci system consists of a console, at which the surgeon sits, and a mobile patient-side cart with four interactive arms. Two robotic arms - maneuvered by the surgeon's own hands - hold the instruments. The movements of the surgeon's hands are translated by the da Vinci into micro-movements of the instruments positioned inside the body of the patient. A third arm, which holds the 3-D camera, is also controlled by the surgeon. Dr. Johnston can adjust the camera's position and can zoom in to obtain natural depth of field and vivid images of the area being operated on.

The fourth arm gives the surgeon an extra hand for tasks often performed by nurses in conventional surgeries, such as retracting and holding tissue. "We can perform a prostate cancer surgery with only an assistant surgeon and a nurse," said Dr. Johnston. The surgeon can simultaneously control any of the two arms by depressing a foot pedal underneath the console.

To see for themselves how simple it is to maneuver the robotic arm, reporters attending the hospital's April introduction of the da Vinci system sat at the surgeon's console and tried to use the arms of the robot to perform simple procedures such as picking up a rubber band and putting it around a small object or grabbing and repositioning a dime. Within seconds of sitting at the console, by looking through the 3-D camera and using two fingers of each hand, reporters were able to perform such simple tasks and some of increased complexity – for instance, stretching the rubber band or tying it in a knot. "You can see how easy it will be to train surgeons with the da Vinci," said Dr. Johnston. "Instead of years, it will take months."

The system also offers ergonomic advantages. Thanks to the camera, a surgeon does not need to bend over to get a good view of the target body area or stand for hours. He or she can now sit comfortably.

From the patient's point of view, minimally invasive surgery means a faster recovery than with traditional surgery. It can also reduce the possibility of infections and decrease blood loss and the need for blood transfusions. Other advantages for prostate patients include better cancer control and a faster return to potency and continence. "Patients can return to their daily routine in one week rather than six," said Dr. Johnston. Many patients will need lower doses of post-operative painkillers.

On March 3 Dr. Johnston performed the first prostate cancer surgery using the new system. At the moment, Dr. Johnston uses the da Vinci to perform prostate surgery, although the robotic system can be also used for heart and gynecological surgery. Evanston Hospital's system is a second-generation robot, more compact than the original.

Evanston Hospital has awarded a grant to Dr. Johnston, who, in collaboration with the Biomechanical Engineering Department at Northwestern University, is trying to further improve imaging techniques used during robotic prostate surgery.

Evanston Hospital is the first facility in Illinois to perform surgery with the da Vinci S Surgical System.

Eye on Evanston
Sherman….What

By John Macsai

There is no "plaza" in Sherman Plaza. Unless one considers the bulge in the sidewalk where Davis Street intersects Sherman Avenue a plaza, the name is misleading. Though the 24-foot-wide sidewalk along Sherman Avenue is a welcome pedestrian-friendly gesture, it is no plaza.

The fact is, this property is so crowded with buildings that even if they were better designed these buildings would still appear overwhelming. Just look at this behemoth as you approach it from the east on Davis Street.

Even if each component – the commercial base, the condominium tower and the garage – were well designed, the way they fit together is extremely awkward. The real test of a multi-use project is how the elements relate to each other – how they are joined or how they are separated.

Here, the way the commercial base changes into the residential tower is totally arbitrary, while the garage seems to be thoughtlessly plunked next to the tower.

Of the three elements, the low-rise retail base seems the best in scale, though it is basically formulaic and lacks a fresh idea.

The development pretends to consist of different components, as if each were designed by a different architect. Actually, that would have been a better and certainly more interesting scheme.

The L-shaped condo tower violates the idea of privacy, providing unwelcome cross-views of apartments. It is also heavy-handed, with its bulging bays and illogical variety of balconies that often narrow into useless ends.

The apartments are misleadingly labeled as "lofts." Their interior rooms, lacking natural light or views, should be prohibited but are permitted by code.

A serious flaw in the residential tower is its uncelebrated, insignificant entrance. It lacks a welcoming gesture, a driving lane for cabs, a deep enough canopy. A project with over 200 apartments deserves a more graceful introduction.

The worst component of this complex is the garage. The proper – though more expensive – solution would have been parking under the entire site, probably two stories.

A 13-story garage is a terrible idea. Imagine making 25 turns driving up or driving down. This is a city garage. Why did the City of Evanston allow it?

And the connection between the garage and the apartment tower? There is none. No attempt has been made to separate or to integrate the two structures. And even the handsomely glazed elevator towers do not compensate for this looming monster along the narrow sidewalk on Benson Street.

Sherman Plaza is the classic example of why we need a binding appearance review process in Evanston. Sherman Plaza looks like what it is: the creation of an insensitive bureaucracy, a developer's bottom-line philosophy and less-than-excellent architects.

The end result reminds me of the game we used to play in school: The first student drew the head, folded the paper so that the next student only saw the neck and continued from there. Under the head of a bearded old man someone drew the torso of a nude lady, followed by the hairy legs of a soccer player standing on the graceful feet of a ballerina.

"Lucky Number Slevin"

Propped up by slick dialogue, glossy sets, and an all-star cast, "Lucky Number Slevin" quickly crumbles into a vapid and illogical mess that relies too much on style over substance.

After a brief prologue set in the late 1970s and involving a juiced horse race, mob bookies and a desperate gambling father, the film flashes forward to present-day Manhattan. The unlucky Slevin (Josh Hartnett) arrives at his friend's apartment, trying to regroup after losing his job and catching his girlfriend cheating on him.

While he waits for his friend to return, two thugs break down the door and take him to see "The Boss" (Morgan Freeman). It turns out that his friend has racked up large gambling debts with the wrong people, and Slevin is unable to prove to the thugs that the debt is not his, because his wallet was stolen on the way to his buddy's place.

The Boss is in the middle of a long-running feud with a rival gangster named "The Rabbi" (Ben Kingsley). Once friends and business partners, they now occupy the top floor penthouses of identical buildings and battle over turf, debts and a murdered son – each afraid to leave his lair for fear of being gunned down. Slevin bounces between the two rivals, trying to balance his murderous demands, while a mysterious man in a trenchcoat, Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis), lurks in the shadows, pulling strings tied to something unknown.

"Lucky Number Slevin" exudes the same shady feeling as a sharply-dressed, well-spoken con-artist trying to pitch a great mortgage deal. The sets, from the shiny wallpaper to The Boss's sunken living room lair, are buffed to an artificially cool sheen. The overwrought dialogue tries to sound cool too, but comes off sounding unnatural.

As in his last film, the disastrous "Wicker Park," director Paul McGuigan relies on flashbacks and voice-overs. By choosing to tell much of the story rather than show it, Mr. McGuigan makes it nearly impossible for the audience to care about the characters.

Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley do their best, and at the very least, they look like they are having fun. Josh Hartnett, true to the style-over-substance theme, shows once again that he has the screen presence of a walking 2x6, preferring to smirk and strut through the film instead of reflecting all that is going on with his character. Lucy Liu also has a part as a nosy neighbor-turned-love-interest, but her dubious role in the story leaves her adding little more than aesthetic value to the movie.

Eventually, "Lucky Number Slevin" ties up all the lose ends and then stops, sending us back into the street a little dumber than when we arrived.

1hr 50min. Rated R for language and violence.

"Brick"

"Brick" is "Heathers" on heroin. It is how "The O.C" would look in a surreal world, if written by an adolescent David Lynch. In essence, "Brick" is a high school film noir shot mostly in broad daylight, a paradoxical emulation of the hard-boiled detective films and murder mysteries of the 1940s – with teenagers.

It is not great, but even with its flaws, it is unique and thoroughly entertaining. Sorry for the Yogi Berra-ism, but "Brick" is different, even though we have seen it before.

"Brick" opens with Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a chronically truant high school student, finding his ex-girlfriend, Emily (Emilie de Raven), dead, facedown in a sewer drain, echoing the opening of "Sunset Boulevard." The film takes us back two days, when Brendan finds in his locker a coded note from Emily directing him to an out-of-the-way pay phone. Her phone call is desperate, and she sobs with the fear that she has messed up and perhaps become involved with the wrong crowd.

Armed with snappy dialogue and a sly wit, Brendan penetrates the world of the Upper Crust, the high-class, high school elite, who have a penchant for using people and a lust for stabbing their friends in the back.

Brendan traverses the realms of high school cliques, encountering odd and interesting characters along the way. His information source, The Brain, (Matt O'Leary) is a Rubik's-cube-solving mastermind. Brendan prods low-level drug dealer Dode (Noah Segan) for information, while his degenerate lackeys look on.

When Brendan inquires about a mysterious flier for Halloween in January, theater actress Kara (Meagan Good), a saucy minx with an inexhaustible supply of boy toys, indirectly directs Brendan to an Upper Crust party, which writer/director Rian Johnson envisions as similar to Stanley Kubrick's orgy scene in "Eyes Wide Shut," sans the sex.

Brendan is confronted by Brad (Brian J. White), a football player, for crashing the private party but is instantly saved by Laura (Nora Zehetner), a potential femme fatale in a red dress. Our protagonist fancies himself a step ahead of the rest, but will he be suckered in by a sexy dame he knows does not "eat lunch" (Johnson slang for hang out/date/do business with) with the likes of his kind?

Up until this point in the film Johnson meanders, turning his wheels with a slightly disjointed narrative and unproductive plot points (Brendan's scenes with Kara become repetitive comic devices). He inundates us with rapid-fire, confusing dialogue and a labyrinth of characters. However, despite the Guy Ritchie slang and difficult terminology, the way in which the characters speak their jargon is snappy and fresh – a mix of detective-speak, California slang, and invented words, reminiscent of those in Anthony Burgess' novel, "A Clockwork Orange."

Once Laura ends up dead (in the linear perspective of the script, not in the flashback), Johnson kicks the pacing up a notch, and the film fires – though not on all cylinders – to its conclusion.

Upon Laura's death, Brendan lays it all on the line, shaking down whoever is blocking his path to the truth, embodied in the Pin (Lukas Haas), or kingpin, a drug lord in his early 20s who sports a black coat and a cane. He gets beaten up by the Pin's heavy, Tugger (Noah Fleiss), is kidnapped, and is involved in the best foot chase since "Point Break."

"Brick" is perfectly cast – especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose stunning performance in "Mysterious Skin" last year may be the sign of a rising star – which helps make Johnson's bizarre film a furious, flawed force.

1 hr. 50 min. Rated R for violence and references to drugs.

"Forgiving Dr. Mengele"

How can someone who witnessed the Holocaust and had every member of her family murdered in a concentration camp in Auschwitz then forgive the Nazis? Ask Eva Kor, a Holocaust survivor who, along with her twin sister, withstood the wrath of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.

A recent documentary, "Forgiving Dr. Mengele," directed by Evanston resident Bob Hercules and Northwestern graduate Cheri Pugh, outlines Ms. Kor's past and her decision to forgive Nazis as a means of personal healing. But this decision did not come without a backlash from others who also withstood Dr. Mengele's gruesome experiments on thousands of twins.

"None of the other twins could come to terms with her decision. All of them opposed the idea," said Mr. Hercules after a free screening of the film at Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, as part of the Reeltime Film Series.

In 2001 Mr. Hercules and Ms. Pugh began filming in Terra Haute, Ind., where Ms. Kor now lives as a realtor with her husband, who is also a Holocaust survivor.

In addition to their filming , the directors compiled footage that captures Ms. Kor and her sister as little girls waiting inside barbed wire to be set free from the camp. Other footage includes Ms. Kor's 1995 meeting with Dr. Münch, a Nazi who helped many Jews escape and who was exonerated when put on trial after World War II.

This meeting and Dr. Münch's words of sorrow inspired the idea "to forgive but never forget," and while alongside him on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Ms. Kor said, "In my own name, I forgive all Nazis."

But rather than focusing only on her forgiveness, the film pushes Ms. Kor to defend her pro-Israel beliefs in an interesting scene where she sits down with Palestinians for an uncomfortable discussion in the West Bank.

"It was a very difficult day. A number of Jewish teachers were supposed to be there but weren't, and she felt very out of control," said Mr. Hercules. "We had to climb over rocks to get to the meeting because we couldn't cross the border.…She had a genuine fear of being kidnapped."

But the film, which seems to shift from the documentary genre without the use of narration, reveals more of Ms. Kor's vibrant strength than these moments of insecurity. She constructed a Holocaust museum called CANDLES– Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiment Survivors– in her small town to help educate children and keep her story alive.

Another heartbreaking twist is captured when the museum is burnt down in 2003 and "Remember Timothy McVeigh" is written on one of the charred walls. Still, she is able to compose herself, re-construct the museum, and forgive the past destruction. It seems as if her ability to forgive give her a sense of power and control that allows her to cope with less pain.

"She called it forgiveness, and the psychologist called it ‘working through it,'" said Ms. Pugh.

"Forgiving Dr. Mengele" is available for checkout at the Evanston Public Library and will be out on DVD next fall.

"The Kindness of Strangers"

"The Kindness of Strangers" by Katrina Kittle is much more than just a novel about child abuse.

As is true of "It Takes a Village" by Hillary Clinton, this novel illustrates the importance of everyone's being aware of and then speaking up about unusual behavior.

Sarah, a recent widow, and two sons are still wrestling with the recent loss of their husband and father. Sarah cries as she prepares food for the catering service she operates out of her home.

Nate, 17 years old, skips school to sit smoking at his father's grave. Fifth-grader Danny struggles to keep up. He has few friends, and one-time best friend Jordan does not speak to him anymore.

After the death of Sarah's husband, Roy, her friend Courtney, the mother of Jordan , had come to her aid. Courtney would call Sarah in the morning and ask her what she had decided to wear for the day.

When Sarah would respond that she was not dressed yet, Courtney would tell her to put on her pretty green sweater. Then Courtney would take her out for coffee or a haircut and "make her act like a normal person." So when tragedy hits Courtney's household, Sarah wants to help in any way that she can.

But Courtney does not return Sarah's phone calls, and the police are all over the place. What had seemed like an all-American family apparently has had a lot of secrets to hide.

As the story unfolds, it also becomes apparent that each of them had been keeping little secrets. They wonder, if any of them had spoken up, whether everything would have turned out differently.

The two sons are extremely likeable kids struggling with their own identities. Even though Nate has been temporarily suspended from school, he is basically a very good kid. Danny is the overweight, slow kid whom nobody likes, but readers will love him. And Jordan is an endearing boy caught up in a situation he does not understand.

Sarah and her sons take him into their home, but it takes a while before he lets them into his heart.

This is a novel I could not put down. It has great characters and an engrossing plot and is also very informative. It would make a great book club selection.