Jacquelyn Mitchard

Fifteen-year-old Hope describes events leading her to agree to her boyfriend's plan to stage her abduction, and the consequences for their relationship, her family life, and her budding career as an actress.

Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York. Especially in the summer of 1912. Somber, as a word, was better. But it did not apply to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Prairie was lovely and Shenandoah had a beautiful sound, but you couldn't fit those words into Brooklyn. Serene was the only word for it; especially on a Saturday afternoon in summer. Late in the afternoon the sun slanted down into the mossy yard belonging to Francie Nolan's house,...

A wife and mother is faced with rebuilding her life, and her family, after they have been shockingly torn apart. When their son disappears, the pain of a lost child ravages the Cappadora family for nearly a decade. But when he suddenly returns the whole family must come to a painful reunion.