All We Had by Annie Weatherwax

Publisher: Scribner
Release Date:August 5th 2014
Pages: 272
Source: Publisher through Edelweiss

All We Had tells the story of thirteen year old Ruthie and her mother Rita. Both didn't had much luck and nothing has been much stable in their lives and they don't have a place to call home. Because of a few earlier events they are on the road again in the car, not certain where they end or what their destination will be. They Fat River, a small town in upstate New York, where Rita becomes a waitress in the local diner.Here their life takes a turn for the better for them, and they are welcomed quickly in the Fatt River community, where they make friends with cross-dressing Peter Pam, wherein Ruthie finally finds a friend she can truly trust. But then a man named Vick Ward walks into town and in the diner. He is a a smooth-talking broker who entices Rita with a subprime mortgage and urges her to buy the ramshackle house she and her daughter have been renting.  Everything changes, and for Ruthie not in a positive way, when he and Rita start living together in Vick's McMansion and Ruthie has to leave her newly build op life again..

The story was very gritty and edgy and the life of Ruthie and Rita seemed somewhat hopeless, but that is exactly what I liked about this fantastic new novel. The characters where very enjoyable to read about and they kept me guessing what would happen next. Ruthie was a very interesting main character, as everything that happens to her are things that she can't control that much and just has to accept them. Rita was a very brave single mother, but sometimes she didn't make very wise choices. 
The side characters made the story very lively and realistic. It felt very realistic because it was told through the eyes of Ruthie. All We Had is a book that makes you laugh at sudden points but also shows a lot of sadness. It has everything a good book must have and I hope this book get's a lot of readers who enjoy it just as much as I did!