First published 2009
Lark is seventeen and caring for her younger brother Termite in 1950s West Virginia. Termite cannot walk or speak, but his mind glows with inner light that only Lark truly understands. Their mother Lola has vanished, leaving the siblings with their aunt Nonie, who loves them but carries secrets about their family's past. Meanwhile, Termite's father Corporal Robert Leavitt fights in the early days of the Korean War, where he becomes trapped under friendly fire while attempting to save Korean children. As Lark dreams of a different future for herself and Termite, she receives help from a childhood sweetheart and a mysterious social worker who may not be entirely of this world. The night a devastating flood strikes their town, everything changes. Lark must navigate the swirling waters of family loyalty, hidden truths about Lola's relationship with Nonie, and her own desires for independence. The flood becomes the moment when past and future collide, forcing Lark to choose between the life she has always known and the one she desperately wants to create.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Korea, West Virginia
Period: 1950s
254 pages · Hardcover · Knopf