Tracy Beaker`s not exactly sure what her mother does, because Tracy has been in foster care for as long as she can remember. She has a picture of her mother, who`s pretty enough to be in movies, so maybe she is. And maybe one day Tracy`s mother will show up and reclaim her long-lost daughter, and together they`ll have fabulous adventures. Then again, maybe she won`t. In the meantime, Tracy`s doing everything she can to take care of herself - even though she has to share her birthday cake. And even though the other girls she lives with are mean and nasty and rude and horrible. Mostly. Then a journalist shows up to write a story about their orphanage, and she and Tracy strike up a special friendship. In a story written with humor and sensitivity, Tracy emerges as a spirited girl who`s not quite as tough as she lets everybody think she is.