Life hasn’t been easy lately for twelve-year-old Allie Carroway. Not
only does she have to be careful about what she eats and keep her asthma
treatment with her at all times, but rumor has it that if she has one
more serious asthma attack, her family may move to Arizona—far away from
the Louisiana Bayou and the extended family that she loves and stars
with in the reality TV show, Carried Away with the Carroways.
And now would be a terrible time to go. Uncle Wayne and Aunt Kassie
are about to adopt twelve-year-old Hunter—the first boy to join the
Carroway family in a long time. Allie and her cousins—Kendall, Ruby, and
Lola—have never allowed a boy to set foot in their treehouse meeting
place, the “Diva Duck Blind.” And if Allie’s cousins have any say,
they’ll keep it that way. But Allie can’t ignore that still, small voice
inside her, telling her things must change if Hunter is to be honored
and accepted into the family.
The cousins devise an initiation for Hunter at Mamaw and Papaw’s
house with four challenges—Louisiana bayou style—including frogs,
hunting, and a scary shed rumored to be the place where a mysterious
long lost uncle disappeared. A blackout on the bayou the night of the
initiation heightens the stakes when Hunter goes missing, and Allie and
the girls must face unfamiliar obstacles to bring the family back
together.
192 pages
