The Daisy Children

In this evocative novel, Grant (The Dress in the Window) blends a contemporary story of a woman trying to reconnect to her family history with the historical account of a 1937 elementary school explosion in New London, Tex. Katie Garrett never really knew her grandmother, Margaret Pierson, and is pleasantly surprised to learn she was left an inheritance. Katie heads to Texas with every intention of returning to Boston as soon as possible. She is welcomed to New London by her distant cousin Scarlett, whose energy and optimism strike a contrast to Katie’s dour attitude. As Scarlett helps Katie claim her inheritance, the two bond over their family connections, and Scarlett tells Katie about Margaret’s status as a Daisy Child—one of the children born to parents who had lost a child during the horrific gas explosion. While they sort through their grandmother’s possessions, Katie and Scarlett uncover family secrets pertaining to the Daisy Children and the school explosion that will shape their lives in ways they never expected. While Grant nicely weaves in historical flourishes, occasional over detailing and chapters that alternate between the present and the 1930s make transitions sometimes clunky and hard to follow. Despite this, Grant’s moving book is a multilayered story of heartache, hope, and healing. (Aug.)