Nine-year-old Vinnie Matthews is a little girl with a big problem. She needs a lifesaver-not the candy kind, but a real one that will take her back to her home in Washington and make her daddy live again. Life without Daddy means moving to Grandma's rickety old house in Virginia and going to a new school where the other girls only make fun of Vinnie. Most of the time, Vinnie spends recess sitting alone on the school steps. But one day on the playground, she sees a mysterious, long-haired girl playing hopscotch, and her curiosity gets the best of her. Why does Lupe wear such strange orange flip-flops? And why is she always playing alone? In the midst of her sadness and anger, Vinnie reaches out to Lupe-and discovers a lifesaver in herself. With compassion and honesty, Newbery Medalist Katherine Paterson has written a moving tale of two young girls coming to terms with death and shattered dreams-and finding hope in new beginnings.