by Pearl Cleage
First published 1997
Ava Johnson sells her Atlanta hair salon after learning she's HIV positive and heads back to her childhood home in Idlewild, Michigan. She plans to spend one summer with her recently widowed sister Joyce before moving to San Francisco for good. But small town Idlewild carries big city problems. Crack addiction devastates the community. Teen mothers struggle alone. An abandoned baby needs care. Violence threatens the peace Ava hoped to find. Then she meets Eddie Jefferson, a man with his own complicated past who makes her reconsider her plans to leave. Ava's sharp wit and honest voice guide her through family obligations, community crises, and the unexpected possibility of love. She must decide whether to stick with her safe exit strategy or risk staying to build something meaningful in a place where everything looks broken on the surface.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, social-issues, family-drama, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, second-chance
Setting: Atlanta, Idlewild, Michigan, San Francisco
Period: 20th-century
244 pages · Paperback · Avon
Content warnings: addiction