Flowers, R. Barri

Four months shy of turning sixteen, Lexi Montoya was still trying to come to terms with her parents? divorce and her mom's marriage to a man she met online, relocating to Maui, Hawaii. Choosing to remain with her dad in Seattle, Lexi had planned to spend her first summer since the divorce hanging out with her boyfriend, Matt, and her best friend, Robin. But her dad had other plans, insisting she spend the summer visiting her mom and stepdad at his ranch called Paradise Ranch in Wailuku, in west Maui. Lexi went there with an attitude. Then she meets a cute Hawaiian guy named Mitsuo, is thrown into a love triangle, becomes friends with a teen girl named April who lives on a ranch next door; rides her first horse--an Arabian mare named Poppy--learns to hula dance and surf, and finds herself embroiled in a dangerous rescue mission when Poppy and another horse named Casper are stolen from her stepfather?s ranch.

An exploration of the commercial sex-for-sale industry in the modern era, discussing the business, social, and economic aspects of prostitution and the roles of men and women in the industry.

Explores the problem of street kids in America, discussing some of the reasons why young people run away, the dangers of life on the streets, and efforts to combat the situation.