Winner: Readers' Favorite Book 2013 Gold Award Winner, Coming of Age Category - Young Adult

Winner: League of Utah Writers Gold Quill Award 2012

Desert Rice, by Angela Scott, a tale of two young people's desperate struggle to survive in the modern world, as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl.

Young Adult/Contemporary 16+ (some mild adult situations).

Samantha Jean Haggert is a beautiful 12-year-old girl, but no one knows it. All they see is an awkward boy in a baseball cap and baggy pants. Sam's not thrilled with the idea of hiding her identity, but it's all part of her brother's plan to keep Sam safe from male attention and hidden from the law.

15-year-old Jacob will stop at nothing to protect his sister, including concealing the death of the one person who should have protected them in the first place—their mother. Sam and Jacob try to outrun their past by stealing the family car and traveling from West Virginia to Arizona, but the adult world proves mighty difficult to navigate, especially for two kids on their own.

Trusting adults has never been an option; no adult has ever given them a good reason. But when Sam meets "Jesus"—who smells an awful lot like a horse—in the park, life takes a different turn. He saved her once, and may be willing to save Sam and her brother again, if only they admit what took place that fateful day in West Virginia. The problem? Sam doesn't remember, and Jacob isn't talking.