Fire up the DeLorean. Here are two titles that you might enjoy with a side of nostalgia.
I will confess that Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe pulled me in with it’s cover. A coming-of-age story set in 1980s South Carolina that feels like a lazy summer day. This story follows the Foster family, siblings all named after cities, living on a working tobacco farm. Austin is in high school when her mother dies giving birth to twins. The story follows the family for several years, through her father’s grief and worsening mental health, and Austin’s struggles with raising her siblings and maintaining a relationship with the mayor’s son. A variety of friends and neighbors demonstrate the strength of community alongside a subtle faith message of acceptance and empathy. Available in e-book and e-audio in both Overdrive (Libby) and Hoopla. Print copies can be requested through SearchOhio.
A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion is a debut title that gives us a harrowing glimpse of absentee parenting in an outlying Pennsylvania suburb on Valley Forge Mountain. Five siblings living with their divorced mother, try to manage the consequences of a bad situation on their own. Libby recounts the summer of 1981, when an argument in the car led her mother to leave her 12-year-old sister Ellen on the side of the road. The resulting fallout forges friendships, reveals secrets and ushers in changes for the whole family. An insightful coming-of-age story set in the days of mallrats and Reaganomics where children come to understand that their parents are only human, flawed like the rest of us. Many musical references and some political commentary sprinkled throughout. Available in print form and e-book and e-audio formats in Overdrive (Libby)
