When Belle Prater disappears, Belle’s boy, Woodrow, comes to live with his grandparents in Coal Station, Virginia. Woodrow’s cousin Gypsy is the town beauty, but she has hidden sorrows and secrets of her own. She wonders how Woodrow can accept his mother’s disappearance when she’s never gotten over her father’s death. That’s when Woodrow tells Gypsy the secret about his mother.
"White gives her protagonists the courage to face tragedy and transcend it—and the ability to pass along that gift to the reader." —Publishers Weekly, Starred"White paints a vivid picture of small-town Appalachia in the 1950s. . . . Characterization is superb."—School Library Journal, Starred"Ruth White creates a satisfying feeling of community. . . . An admirable, stirring book."—The New York Times Book Review
