The Perfect Place

Twelve-year-old Treasure is sure that there’s a “perfect place” out there, somewhere her family can be happy—and together. She’s equally confident that it won’t be anything like Black Lake, the small Virginia town where her Great-Aunt Grace lives, and where her mother has left Treasure and her younger sister after the girls’ father took off. Great-Aunt Grace (aka “Gag”) is described as both a “mountain” and a “storm”: she’s a stubborn country woman, and no fan of Treasure’s “no-’count” father or of spoiled children. Treasure’s dream of being reunited with her father begins to fade as Terrance, an equally smart and out-of-place new arrival in town, tests her resolve not to make friends, and Great-Aunt Grace turns detective in response to a rash of thefts. Harris (Summer Jackson: Grown Up) makes the “tough old bird with a tender heart” character fresh: Great-Aunt Grace may not be educated, but she’s canny and kind in her own gruff way. Black Lake and its close-knit African-American community, as seen through Treasure’s eyes, come through strongly. Ages 10–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency. (Nov.)