Georgie Burgess has known only neglect and abuse during his seven and a half years of life. His alcoholic mother does little to prevent the bruises and scars inflicted on Georgie by her brutal boyfriend. With each blow, the little boy withdraws further into his dreams. When he wins a small rose bush in a lottery, it seems as if one of his dreams has finally come true. But after a particularly savage beating, he is taken from his mother and placed in a home for boys. Surrounded by strangers, and with the rosebush as his only link to the world, both the boy and his treasured plant must learn how to grow and thrive. Irene Hunt has written many books for young people; she has won both a Newbery Honor and a Newbery Medal for her work. Drawing on her professional background in psychology, she creates a heartwarming tale of emerging trust and hope in The Lottery Rose.