Book Description
for Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
For generations, the women in Linden’s family have each had a special ability, which differs from one mother, daughter, or sister to the next. Teenage Linden (white) can taste people’s feelings, a gift that carries over into the baking she does for the family restaurant, where whatever she makes is influenced by her mood. But it’s a gift that’s useless in helping her recall what happened a year ago when she disappeared on the night of the annual Moth Festival, which celebrates the legend of the Moth-Winged Man rumored to inhabit the forest in their part of Appalachia. She showed up the next morning bloodied, scared, and with no memory of what had happened. Now another young woman, Linden’s friend Dahlia, has gone missing on the night of the Moth Festival—but Dahlia ends up dead. The new trauma layered over the old not only sparks flashbacks for Linden—frustrating snippets without sense or context—but throws her back together with Cole, her longtime friend and longed-for boyfriend, from whom she’s been estranged for the past year. This gorgeously written novel weaves an intricate tapestry from its finely drawn characters, increasingly tense plot, and beautifully drawn setting. These are the weft, drawn through the warp and warmth and humor of family, with Linden surrounded by fierce, tender, loving women whose secret gifts turn out to be connected to the legend that defines their town. (Age 13 and older)
CCBC Choices 2024. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2024. Used with permission.