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A 13-year-old boy reconnects with his long-lost mother in this middle-grade novel.

It’s Thanksgiving on Central New Jersey’s Sourland Mountain, and Gwilym Duckworthy has just finished the annual scavenger hunt with his diverse family when he receives a life-changing voicemail. His mother, who left Gwilym and his two older siblings in the care of their father when the teen was just 3 years old, will soon be in the area and wants to meet her youngest son for dinner. Gwilym isn’t sure what to do—he’s happy with his dad, his stepmom, and his siblings and friends and doesn’t initially tell them about his mother’s reemergence. Besides, she voluntarily packed up and abandoned them to pursue her professional music career, so why does she want to reconnect now? Gwilym ponders this as he goes through the motions of classes and his bicycle delivery job while choosing his instrument for the school band: the trumpet, which his mother also plays. As Gwilym and his mother begin to rebuild their relationship, he comes clean to his older brother Clay, who has Down syndrome, and his adopted sister, Bex, who is on the verge of getting a softball scholarship to college. The three tightknit siblings decide to watch their mother play a concert with her jazz band, processing the new relationship together. This moving novel is the second book in McGlothlin’s Sourland Mountain series, set in the backwoods of the unique area 20 minutes outside Princeton, New Jersey. The straightforward story delivers a strong cast of characters. Gwilym’s best friend, Cat Hamilton, who was featured in the series’ first book, Drawing With Whitman (2019), makes several appearances along with her family’s boarder, Benton Whitman, a quirky visual artist and descendant of Walt Whitman. Benton inspires Gwilym to see his passion for music in a whole new way. Gwilym’s world is small and intimate but distinct as well: Bex, a Black teen, was adopted as a baby, as was his cousin Hattie, who was born in China. In addition, the protagonist is sensitive and observant in ways that are realistic for a 13-year-old boy.

A simple, touching tale of music and family.