Southern Fiction Family

A wedding celebration destroyed. A brother missing. A family under fire. Welcome back to Melody Harbor, where the waves may be calm, but secrets churn just beneath the surface. Sophie Martin thought her wedding day would mark a new beginning. Instead, it became the start of a nightmare. Her family’s beloved bed-and-breakfast burns to the ground during the ceremony. Her brother, Liam, disappears. And the quiet Alabama town they call home begins to whisper accusations no one saw coming. When Liam is arrested and charged with arson, theft, and drug trafficking, the Martin family is thrust ...

In the hills above Port-au-Prince, a young girl named Fallon wants more than anything to carry a large woven basket to the market, just like her Manman. As she watches her mother wrap her hair in a mouchwa, Fallon tries to twist her own braids into a scarf and balance the empty panye atop her head, but it’s much harder than she thought. Boom! Is she ready after all?

As America recovers from the Second World War, two families’ journeys begin. James Vincent, born in 1942 to an Irish American family, escapes his parents’ turbulent marriage and attends law school in New York, where he moves up the social ladder as a prosperous and bright attorney. Meanwhile, Agnes Miller, a beautiful black woman on a date with a handsome suitor, is pulled over by the police on a rural road in Georgia. The terrible moments that follow make her question her future and pivot her into a hasty marriage and new life in the Bronx.

When seven-year-old Shania returns to Jamaica, her homeland, for the first time in three years, she is reunited with her family and meets her cousin Tamika. Together, the inseparable pair make mischief in the parish of St. James, and at the last minute, she decides she wants to stay. Will her mother get her back in time before their flight leaves?

Nine-year-old Daniel must move across the county with his mom after his parents’ divorce. He’s leaving behind his whole life - everything - and he’s taking a suitcase of anger with him. But Daniel is in for a surprise when he settles into While-a-Way Lane and meets his new neighbors - the Lemonade Girl, the hopscotching mailman, the tiny creatures, and especially Tilda Butter. Tilda knows how to look and listen closely, and it's that gift that helps Daniel find his way in that curious placed called While-a-Way Lane.

Seventh grade will be so easy. Cassandra's got it all. A best friend, a guy she likes, a hobby, and the confidence she needs to start junior high. Finally, things are falling into place. Or, are they? Shortly after sixth grade graduation, soccer camp proves to her she may have more room for improvement than skill. And then, her friendship with Andrea begins to unravel. Even Miles hardly ever says hi at school.