In this sequel to Jennifer’s award-winning debut novel Fireflies in December, Jessilyn Lassiter and her best friend Gemma Teague have survived prejudice and heartache in their lifelong friendship, but the summer of 1936 threatens to tear them apart yet again. Gemma’s job with the wealthy Hadley family leads to a crush on their youngest son. But Jessilyn’s insistence that he’s no good and that no rich white man would ever truly fall for a poor black girl like Gemma puts them at odds. Tragedy strikes when Jessilyn’s cherished neighbor girl is hit by a car and killed. Things get worse when an elderly friend is falsely accused of the crime, and the only way to clear his name is to put her family’s livelihood in jeopardy. For Jessilyn, this is a choice too hard to bear and she wonders where to turn for answers, especially when an angry mob threatens vigilante justice. Jennifer’s third book, Catching Moondrops, releases in Fall 2010.
Back Cover Copy
“I’ve heard the dead whisper.
“Every time I tell my best friend Gemma that, she tells me I’m crazy. But I’m not crazy. The dead really can whisper, only it isn’t their ghosts that do it. It’s the memory of them.”
The summer of 1936 is one that seventeen-year-old Jessilyn Lassiter will never forget. She had hoped to spend it getting a job and—more importantly—finally catching the attention of Luke Talley, the young man she has loved from afar since she was 13.
But tragedy strikes when a cherished neighbor girl is hit by a car. Jessilyn is torn to pieces, especially when her gentle, elderly friend is accused of the crime. She’s sure he’s innocent but discovers that the only way to prove it could jeopardize her family’s survival.
Swept into a grown-up world she couldn’t wait to be a part of, Jessilyn searches for answers until the actions of one man show her the beauty of sacrifice and the power of faith.