by Mary E. Tilley

Every Sunday morning, after Sunday school, and every day after school, thirteen-year-old Mary Schaub and her three younger sisters and three younger brothers pack tight like sardines in the back of their dad's 1970s Ford LTD and are driven to a nearby dirt road off a busy highway. There, they begin their treasure hunt for pop bottles. The end of a long afternoon of collecting pop bottles for a few dollars provides the family milk and bread for the following week. Being thirteen is hard enough on Mary, but living a poor life in a South Florida neighborhood in a rust bucket trailer and having to collect pop bottles on the side of the road where kids from school can see her and her family is humiliating. When Mary's dad falls ill, she begins to learn about the important things in life; value, honor, and sacrifice.