Stargazing For Beginners by Jenny McLachlan

Meg is left on her own suddenly with her baby sister Elsa and their dog Pongo after their mum spontaneously gets offered to go abroad and help children suffering and in need of nursing. Their granddad lives nearby and he offers to help but his house is full of experiments and unsafe for them to live in.

Meg loves space and has the chance to visit Houston NASA if she wins the competition she's entering through her school in a pair with Ed but she struggles to get her speech ight.  She's known there as a geek, especially by Bella and Ed from her class.

However, after turning up late to school and ending up in detention, she meets a group of other students in the gifted group she gets put into with Annie, a cerebral palsy sufferer, Rose a shy girl and sporty Jackson. They call themselves the Broken Biscuit Club after the teacher gets them boxes of the broken biscuits at each meeting.

Ed then asks her to the school dance whilst he later proves how much he likes her after as dramatic turn of events lead him to giving up his speech to try and  win the competition as her grandad's life is hanging on the balance in a quarry...

 Then her mum finally comes home after realizing her children do need her but will they want her back after everything?

A book similar in style to Lily Alone by Jacqueline Wilson only these do have an adult nearby even if he doesn't act as responsible as he should do. Meg is under so much stress for a young teen and her mum is a irresponsible parent for leaving her especially to cope with her baby sister too. It was a sad but hopeful book as she didn't give up no matter how tough things got. It was well written and the conclusion was nothing like I expected for this book, it was dramatic and heartstopping, a true thrilling end which you will remember!