The Dream Girls are back. As Hattie faces a lifetime of blindness, Crackers deals with the possibility of a new family member, and Beverly is accused of a shocking crime.

The pressure of these looming crises creates a rift among the friends, while outside forces push them apart. The girls encounter their worst nightmares as they battle individual obstacles without each other’s support or encouragement.

A miserable Hattie refuses to accept the inevitable—she can’t live without her precious Dream Girls. She will do anything to prove Beverly’s innocence and remain true to Crackers, even though they disagree. In her loneliness and desperation, Hattie conjures up an ingenious plan and convinces Beverly and Crackers to participate. But time is running out—the odds are stacked against them.

Can they save their friendship before it’s too late?

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About the Author: Claudia Whitsitt

Several years after her husband’s passport was stolen, a woman contacted Claudia claiming they were married to the same man. How could this not inspire a novel? As a result of these real-life circumstances, The Samantha Series was born. Identity Issues, Intimacy Issues, and Internal Issues are the result.

Claudia has also written two Michigan based novels, The Wrong Guy, loosely based on the Michigan Murders of the late sixties, and Between the Lines, a middle grades historical novel based on the 1967 Detroit Riots. Between the Lines has been nominated for the Michigan Notable Book Award.

What inspired Whitsitt to write the  “Between the Lines” trilogy?

She explains: Growing up in Detroit, I was always concerned about differences and wanted life to be fair. I’m not sure if I was born this way or if my upbringing rooted this belief in me, but t didn’t take long for me to learn that life is anything but fair. Still, I made it my personal mission to try and help people settle their differences in an equitable manner, and be kind to everyone, no matter how different they were from me. When the Detroit riots started on my fifteenth birthday, like Hattie, I was devastated.

But the riots also cemented this sense of wonder in me. Why couldn’t all people get along? Crackers, Beverly, and I met in college, and when I came to write a novel for my students, I couldn’t think of a better place to begin than with a story inspired by our true friendship, one that has lasted for over forty years. Some people would call me naïve, I suppose, but I firmly believe that with the right education, much like Jane Elliot’s diversity training, we could learn to celebrate differences and live together in peace. I’m sure that my sense of fairness, my fascination with learning more about how all of us negotiate the world, and my desire to make a difference led me to teaching and to the field of special education. Writing Between the Lines was a somewhat selfish endeavor for me. Now I can spend more time back in the classroom, where my heart belongs.

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