East of Everywhere

It's been almost a decade since the end of the war, when the telegram first arrived at their house on Lennox Lane. Four years since the apartment on Harker Street, where food was scarce and nights were long and their mother slept away her grief. Three months since Janie was forced to leave her little brother, Brayden, and best friend, Leo, behind at Anthers Hall. Two weeks since she stole a bicycle and ran away from the new children's home on the other side of the state. One day since she arrived in Montours City. No one knows her secrets in this small town.
If Janie is going to make it back to her brother and the only place she's ever called home, she needs to keep it that way. But when a hard-hearted widow, a boy in a boxcar, and a dog named Panda weave their way into her life, Janie begins to wonder if what she's searching for isn't better off laid to rest.