Crystal (Orphans, 2)

All she wanted was a family she could call her own...

As an orphan girl, Crystal was one of many -- and utterly alone. But she still dreamed of a shining life of love and happiness, and freedom from the dark legacy of her past...

Bright and fearless, Crystal will discover that new parents can mean new worries....

When the Morrises choose Crystal from all the girls and boys in the orphanage, she is full of optimism -- at last she has a home to call her own. Karl Morris, her new dad, likes math as much as she likes science, and he's already proud of her being a good student. Thelma, her new mom, makes her feel truly wanted for the first time. And though Thelma seems more interested in her television soap operas than in real life, Crystal feels in her heart that their tidy little house will become a real home.

Crystal is especially pleased when the Morrises approve of her first boyfriend. But she will soon discover that in her new home, sadness is banished to the back of a closet... and that means no one is prepared when a shocking tragedy comes rattling at the door.