Watch Over Me

I led him into the kitchen, where a round table sat beneath a window in the sun and the chairs were close enough for friendly conversation but far enough apart for strangers.

How are you doing? he asked after we sat.

Well, finals are over, so that s good, I said.

Yes, congratulations. Your transcripts are solid. Have you considered college?

I shrugged. Maybe I ll go at some point.

He nodded, but I saw that he felt sorry for me. My eyes darted to the window. I didn t know how to talk about my life with someone who understood. I clenched a fist in my lap and forced myself not to cry. I was ready to prove my work ethic, talk about the hours I spent volunteering at the library, and assure him that I was not afraid of dirt or messes or children throwing tantrums ­but I was not ready for this.

So, let me tell you about Terry and Julia and the farm, he said, taking mercy on me. They adopted me when I was three, so it s been home basically all my life. I haven t lived at the farm in a long time, but I help them run the finances and I do all the interviews. I felt my fist unclench and I settled into the chair and listened to him tell me about the things I had already learned from talking to Karen and reading a San Francisco Chronicle article from fifteen years ago with the headline "Mendocino Couple Adopts Fortieth Foster Child." He talked about the farm and how everyone contributes to running it, from the children to the interns, and how as an intern I would spend my weekdays teaching in the schoolhouse and my Sundays waking up at five a.m. to run the booth at the farmers market. He told me about the holidays when all the grown-­up children come back to visit. It becomes home if you let it, he said. Even for the interns. I know that might sound hard to believe, but it s true.

When

Exquisite. Kirkus, starred review

  LaCour paints a captivating depiction of loss, bewilderment, and emotional paralysis . . . raw and beautiful. Booklist, starred review

  Beautifully crafted . . . . A quietly moving, potent novel. SLJ, starred review

  A moving portrait of a girl struggling to rebound after everything she s known has been thrown into disarray. Publishers Weekly, starred review

Bittersweet and hopeful . . . poetic and skillfully crafted.   Shelf Awareness, starred review

Hold Still
  An impressive debut. Publishers Weekly

Confident writing and [a] savvy sense of prose.   Kirkus

The book is written with honesty, revealing one's pain after the loss of a loved one.   SLJ

The Disenchantments
Quietly compelling . . . well rendered, bittersweet and hopeful. The Los Angeles Times

  This is about the inside and outside of characters, the past and future of their lives and it is astonishing. Booklist, starred review

  A rich tapestry that will make readers confident that they are in the hands of a master storyteller. Hauntingly beautiful. Kirkus, starred review

Bittersweet and hopeful . . . poetic and skillfully crafted.   Shelf Awareness, starred review

Everything Leads to You
Underneath the privilege surges real pain, longing, and feeling. Publishers Weekly, starred review