Hollis Woods is a 12-year old orphan in foster care. She has a passion for drawing pictures but desperately wants a family to call her own. She finds herself put in the care of a Cool Old Lady named Josie but is still having problems associated with why she left a previous placement that seemed ideal.
Tropes of Hollis Woods
- Adoptive Name Change: At the end of the story Hollis settles on her new name as Hollis Woods Regan.
- Affectionate Nickname: The Regans take to calling Hollis by Holly.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Hollis has this moment in-universe when she notices in her drawing that the Old Man really does care about Steven despite how they argue.
- Cool Old Lady: Hollis thinks this way of Josie and to a slightly lesser extent her sister Beatrice.
- Flashback: Multiple chapters entitled Pictures tell flashbacks to Hollis' past within the realm of her reminiscing about pictures she has drawn.
- Foster Kid: Hollis is one and runs away from her placements in them often.
- Happily Adopted: Hollis finally finds her home in the end with the Regans.
- Parental Abandonment: Hollis was left abandoned in the real Holiswood by her real mother as a newborn.
- Parental Favoritism: Hollis worries her presence at the Regan house is causing the Old Man to favor her over his biological son Steven.
- The Runaway: Hollis has run away from foster homes quite often that the agency even warns people she usually doesn't stay long. She towards the middle section convinces Josie to join her.
