Seventeen-year-old Fern is having a hard time: she finds school difficult, lives in a run-down apartment in a dangerous neighborhood, and watches her mother struggle to survive on a housekeeper's meager salary. But through it all, Fern's mother refuses to give in and makes sure that Fern knows she is loved. And Fern does have outlets: she writes to an imaginary friend named Xanoth, pets her beloved cat Beauty, and imagines living a different life. But when Fern's mother dies suddenly of a heart attack, Fern finds herself struggling to survive in an entirely new way. This young-adult novel tells a stirring tale of perseverance, love, and hope.