Summer of the Gypsy Moths

Stella is only staying with her great-aunt Louise in Cape Cod until her mother gets things back together.  As soon as she gets a job and finishes those parenting classes, Stella won't have to live with her grumpy aunt anymore.

Aunt Louise takes Stella in, like she did Stella's mother, because the girl has nowhere else to go, but she decides Stella shouldn't be alone, so she also takes Angel as a foster child.

Angel is just biding her time in one foster home after the next until her aunt can get a job, her green card, and a home.  Now that Angel's father is dead, her aunt is the only one left to take care of her.

Soon after Angel arrives, Aunt Louise dies unexpectedly  and the girls have a decision to make.  They know they should call the police, but Angel doesn't want to go to another foster home, and Stella doesn't have any more relatives.  The girls decide to take over Aunt Louise's job of managing the vacation properties next door and hide her death, just for the summer.  By the end of the summer, Angel will have enough money to meet her aunt in New York, and Stella hopes that will be enough time for her mother to get her life together.

This is one summer when two girls will learn to accept one another and the truth about their own lives.  If you like realistic fiction, you will enjoy Sara Pennypacker's new book.