Dark histories, family secrets, murder, and sapphic romance come together in this story about one girl’s journey as she discovers her family’s secrets. Avery Anderson is 17 years old and her life is uprooted, having to move from DC into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. Avery had plans for her summer but now she is stuck in a home filled with tension between her mother and her grandmother who she doesn’t know anything about. Every time Avery tries to get them to talk about why they are the way they are, what happened to them, she is turned away or given the cold shoulder. Avery wants to find out what has caused the split in her family and why her mother and grandmother are constantly fighting.... and why she never knew her grandfather. With her grandmother’s time running out, Avery is determined to discover everything and spend more time with her. Yet things get even more complicated when Avery grows close to Simone Cole ( her gorgeous next door neighbor and the daughter to her mother’s childhood friend) and Jade Oliver ( the daughter of the town’s most prominent family). The racist history of Bardell, Georgia will awaken in Avery a rage and sadness she never knew as she discovers what has happened to her family and her family’s history with the town. The more she discovers the more things from the past will come back today and the more relationships will be tested. This was a stunning book on racism, generational trauma, grief, and queer coming out. I was absolutely sucked into the story and the journey that Avery went through. I would highly recommend this book!

*Thank you Roaring Brook Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*