First published 2005
Holland Shepard carries the weight of ghosts she never met. Her parents named her and her younger sister Geneva after siblings who died before either girl was born. The family house feels crowded with memories that belong to other children. Holland watches her parents grieve for the lost ones while struggling to see the daughters right in front of them. Geneva rebels in her own way, but both sisters know they can never measure up to the perfect memory of the dead. Holland wants to break free from this suffocating legacy. She needs to discover who she might become if she stops trying to replace someone else. The question becomes whether their parents will ever let the living children step out from behind the shadows of the dead.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, identity
220 pages · Hardcover · Thorndike Pr