The author of Sophie and the Rising Sun "streamlines her rich Southern style and creates a narrative as delicate as a line drawing" (USA Today) A series of family tragedies leaves fourteen-year-old Dove, her younger sister, Molly, and their baby brother, Little Ellis, in the care of their stepmother, seventeen-year-old Crystal. Born into a hardscrabble world of poverty and abandonment, Dove must take on much of the responsibility for her siblings after Crystal turns to their Bible-thumping Aunt Bett for help. When Molly's deadbeat blood father threatens to bring a custody suit, Crystal and Dove flee with the children to a secret refuge called Swan Place, where they meet a group of devout Black women who transform their lives in unusual and profound ways.

An unforgettable story of an extraordinary love and a town's prejudice during World War II. Sophie and the Rising Sun "suggests the small but heartwarming triumphs made possible by human dignity and courage." -Publisher's Weekly. In sleepy Salty Creek, Georgia, strangers are rare. When a quiet, unassuming stranger arrives-a Japanese man with a secret history of his own-he becomes the talk of the town and a new beginning for lonely Sophie, who lost her first love during World War I. Middle-aged Sophie had resigned herself to a passionless existence. That all begins to change as she finds herself drawn to the mysterious Mr. Oto. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Mr. Oto's newfound life comes under siege; his safety, even in Salty Creek, is no longer certain. Sophie must decide how much she is willing to risk for a future with the man who has brought such joy into her life. Visit the author at: www.AugustaTrobaugh.com