I read Zillah and Me by Helen Dunmore.  When Katie moves from a big house, with a power shower in England, to a cottage in the countryside, with no shower and an outdoor toilet infested with spiders, she doesn't know anything about Zillah, Zillah's great aunt, or Geoff the "murderer". When she first meets Zillah, she doesn't think that the crabby, unpopular girl will be her first new friend.  But Katie's intrigued --about why Zillah is so crabby all the time, and why Zillah always wear that ring on a chain around her neck.  It's up to Katie to find out about Zillah, since no one else will. 

You MUST read this book.  From the fist sentence of the book, I was in a trance.  I could not stop reading it!  It was one of those books you want to read to the person next to you, no matter who they are, they may even be a complete stranger you find yourself sitting next to you in the airport, it's just that kind of book.