Twelve-year-old Mitchell got involved with the wrong kid this past summer, and the prank they played led to an elderly woman's injury. Now he finds himself at the police station—his "sentence" is to chat online with a nursing home resident twice a week for the next month. Mitch isn't thrilled; what could he and some "old" person possibly talk about? But Mitch's new online friend has a personality all her own. Her name is Wootie Hayes, and she has plenty to talk about: how she got her name, how much she misses her own home, and how she detests bingo. But she also wants to know about Mitch's situation. Without expecting it, they help each other face the truth and begin a new friendship in the process.

"This intriguing narrative thinks outside the box, and should inspire more experiments with programs like the one presented here." —Kirkus Reviews

Jan Siebold lives with her husband in East Aurora, New York. She spent more than thirty years as an elementary school librarian. She has written for numerous magazines and journals and published three children's books. She enjoys hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and "doing time" with a good book.