What Makes Us a Family features fictional narratives paired with firsthand advice from a licensed psychologist to help preteen and teen girls better understand and appreciate their nontraditional families. Topics include adoption, gay parents, grandparents as parents, foster families, stepparents, and mixed-race families. Readers will also learn how to cope with having a parent in prison, an alcoholic parent, or a parent in the military. Throughout the book, Talk About It questions encourage discussion. Additional resources, a glossary, and an index are also included. What Makes Us a Family will leave readers with a new perspective of their nontraditional families. Strong, Beautiful Girls is a series in Essential Library, an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.