Marci Moves In

Marci doesn't want a new room. He wants his family back.

One morning, eight-year-old Marci is separated from his parents and little sisters and taken to a group home. His green stuffed bunny, Button, is the one familiar thing he can hold on to. Everything else feels wrong: the strange bedroom, the unfamiliar adults, the new rules—and the suitcase he refuses to unpack. After all, he's going home soon. Isn't he?

Then Marci meets the children who live there. Some make him laugh. Others make it hard to feel welcome. When he sees how lonely Lisa is, he discovers that even someone who feels lost can help another person feel less alone.

But friendship doesn't make the homesickness disappear. And Marci still needs an answer to the question no one seems able to give him: When can he see his family again?

Marci Moves In is a heartfelt, gently humorous middle-grade novel about family separation, homesickness, friendship, and taking the first small steps toward feeling safe again. For readers ages 8–14.