First published 2007
The wolf girls arrive at St. Lucy's Home clutching their old ways like claws. Nuns in starched habits greet them with patient smiles and firm rules. The girls must learn to walk upright, speak in sentences, and eat with forks instead of tearing meat with their teeth. Some adapt quickly to human customs. Others resist, howling at night and marking territory in the dormitory corners. The youngest struggles most, caught between her pack instincts and the strange new world of prayers and proper posture. In the Florida Everglades that surround the convent, other magical transformations unfold. A family wrestles alligators for tourist crowds. Children float away on crab shells like tiny boats. Dreamers gather at summer camps to sort through their visions. These ten stories reveal a world where the line between wild and civilized shifts like swamp water, where growing up means choosing between the comfort of instinct and the promise of belonging.
Genres: coming-of-age, fantasy, contemporary, magical-realism
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Florida Everglades, St. Lucy's Home
Period: Contemporary
246 pages · Paperback · Vintage