In the summer of 1965, disaster struck when, like a migrating goose, our wackadoodle Great Aunt Polly arrived from New Mexico with her signature eye patch matching the enormous turquoise muumuu that barely stretched over her bulk. Since our family had a tradition of helping out its elderly relatives, they assigned Kitty and me to stay at her ancient crumbling mansion on lake Minnetonka. Our job was to work for Aunt Polly, whatever that meant.

Aunt Polly’s rules were endless. Could she expect us to obey them all? "Stay out of that room!" she said about the house's one locked door. That was an invitation, indeed!

We tried to keep boredom at bay. For instance, we managed to catch the eyes of the hunky guys next door. But as two sheltered girls from South Minneapolis, we soon felt out of place among the trendy sophisticates of Lake Minnetonka. We had no choice but to search for keys to the forbidden room where we unlocked family secrets from decades past.

Our coming-of-age story will make you giggle, cringe, squirm, and gasp. If you secretly wish to visit the 1960s, then Stay Out of That Room is for you.

Stay Out of That Room is the first book in author Clare Bills’ House of Girls series about a family with eight daughters.