MIRACLE SEASON

After her brother suffers a severe brain injury, Persephone concocts a scheme to help her struggling family, but her good intentions go awry.

Thirteen-year-old Persephone Pearl Clark has never encountered a plant she couldn’t bring to life. Sadly, she can’t do the same for Levi, her beloved big brother, who remains unresponsive after a diving accident. One year later, her parents are mired in medical bills, and Levi’s condition is deteriorating. When Persephone discovers that Levi had intended to submit their former mining town in Wisconsin to Small Town Revival, a reality show that awards $100,000 to the contestant who transforms their town most dramatically, she realizes that the prize could buy Levi expensive advanced treatments as well as pay existing bills. Forging Levi’s signature, she submits his application, setting off a chain of secrets and lies that threatens to ruin everything. Despite quiet magical touches—an uncannily communicative cat; an eccentric woman tending her temperamental, sentient house and garden—Hautala realistically explores tough issues. Persephone’s grief and trauma are unflinchingly portrayed, as are her strained relationships with her equally wounded but staunchly supportive family and friends. Persephone’s inadvertent exploitation of Levi, who cannot consent, which is born out of her desperation to help, is gently but firmly countered by her parents’ respect for his dignity. Occasionally lyrical prose enhances the alternately cozy and stifling small-town atmosphere. Most characters, including Persephone, default to White.

A compassionate, thought-provoking take on family, friendship, grief, and renewal.