First published 2021
Zora craves stories the way bees crave honey. She sits on the porch of the general store, drinking in every folktale the adults share. Her mama teaches her to "jump at de sun" when she wants something, because even if she falls short, she'll still leave the ground. Zora takes this advice to heart. She jumps from place to place, from her small town to Howard University to Harlem. At each stop, she gathers the stories that others walk past without hearing. She writes down the tales that no one else bothers to record. Zora discovers a whole world of overlooked literature, stories from people whose voices have been ignored. Through her jumping and listening, she brings light to these forgotten narratives. Her determination to collect what others dismiss transforms American literature forever. This is the story of how one girl's hunger for tales and willingness to leap toward her dreams changed everything.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, american, african-american, coming-of-age, biography-memoir, 21st-century, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Howard University, Harlem
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
48 pages · Kindle Edition · Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books