First published 1989
Carly watches the massive condors circle overhead as she explores her family's Southern California ranch in 1907. At eleven years old, she has turned into something of a detective, piecing together clues about the bitter conflict that threatens everything her family has built. The feud draws in neighbors and relatives, creating tensions that ripple through daily life on the ranch. Carly observes the adults around her with careful eyes, trying to understand the forces that could tear apart the world she knows. She spends her days tracking the great birds that soar above the hills and tracking the human dramas that unfold below. When tragedy strikes without warning, Carly must find ways to cope with losses she never saw coming. The ranch that seemed so solid becomes a place where anything can change in an instant.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: detective-story, loss
Setting: Southern California
Period: 1907
224 pages · Paperback · Yearling