First published 2024
Mika Tabor sits at the feet of her relatives, absorbing every story they tell. The youngest in her family, she spends her days in the care of the people who shape her world on Redwood Court, a cul-de-sac in Columbia, South Carolina. Her exhausted parents juggle multiple jobs while planning family vacations. Her older sister chooses Alanis Morrisette over the Motown that fills their house. Her retired grandparents, who lived through Jim Crow, bought their home in the 1960s with dreams of future generations filling its rooms. The neighbors around them have built a tight community, determined to create joy and love despite living in an America that wants to see them fail. As Mika witnesses their struggles and listens to their tales, she learns what it means to be invisible and what it takes to be truly seen. Through her eyes, the ordinary people of Redwood Court reveal their extraordinary dreams.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, african-american, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: Columbia, Redwood Court, South Carolina
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
320 pages · Paperback · Dial Press Trade Paperback