Billie Standish was Here by Nancy Crocker

This is the story of an unlikely friendship between an eleven year old girl, Billie, and an elderly woman, Lydia, who lives across the street.  This is more than a coming of age story, it is the tale of the worst of an angry world being thrust upon an innocent girl-- and the fallout that remains.  It is a story of redemption, love, life, and ultimately, hope.  The fact that the story takes place in rural western Missouri, not far from where my own high school library is, makes the book that much more relevant.  Set in the turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s, Billie has her eyes opened to a world beyond her father's limited visions for her.  Billie is the only child of two struggling farmers who have at best neglected their child by never being around.  Billie forms a friendship with Lydia, an elderly neighbor, and as the years pass we see not only the significant events of a tumultuous time but the significance of those on ordinary people.  This was nominated for the Missouri Gateway Readers Award in 2010. It didn't win, but it has stood the test of time better than most of the others on the list. Four years later, it's probably the second most circulated book of that class (Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why won the award and is still in heavy circulation).
I highly recommend this wonderful book!