Sweetness All Around

Following a devastating warehouse fire that destroys her mother’s sewing business in Tennessee, 10-year-old Josephine Willoughby and her mama must move into Happy World Trailer Park (“Dandiest Little Place on Earth!”), leaving behind what Jo thinks of as their “pretty life.” A “rusty pipe fixing to burst” after the event, Jo is impulsive and sharp-tongued, mourning the sudden relocation and the loss of her friends. She nevertheless forges a reluctant bond with neighbor Lisa Marie, who introduces Jo to the park’s rhythms and residents, including Lisa Marie’s tender great-uncle Buster Lee as well as withdrawn Helen-Dove, whose daughter Molly was kidnapped a year earlier. As Jo spends the summer of 1974 on outings with Lisa Marie and accompanying her loving and pragmatic mama on seamstress jobs, Molly’s disappearance is never far from her mind, and she’s drawn to investigate the girl’s whereabouts, despite warnings. Brimming with 1970s references and featuring a vivid setting and flawed, richly drawn characters, this immersive middle grade debut from Supplee (Somebody Everybody Listens To) offers up an eloquent portrayal of life’s variability through a protagonist learning to search for the “sweetness in this life.” Most characters default to white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Oct.)