Book Descriptions
for Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
For generations, the women in Linden’s family have each had a special ability, which differs from one mother, daughter, or sister to the next. Teenage Linden (white) can taste people’s feelings, a gift that carries over into the baking she does for the family restaurant, where whatever she makes is influenced by her mood. But it’s a gift that’s useless in helping her recall what happened a year ago when she disappeared on the night of the annual Moth Festival, which celebrates the legend of the Moth-Winged Man rumored to inhabit the forest in their part of Appalachia. She showed up the next morning bloodied, scared, and with no memory of what had happened. Now another young woman, Linden’s friend Dahlia, has gone missing on the night of the Moth Festival—but Dahlia ends up dead. The new trauma layered over the old not only sparks flashbacks for Linden—frustrating snippets without sense or context—but throws her back together with Cole, her longtime friend and longed-for boyfriend, from whom she’s been estranged for the past year. This gorgeously written novel weaves an intricate tapestry from its finely drawn characters, increasingly tense plot, and beautifully drawn setting. These are the weft, drawn through the warp and warmth and humor of family, with Linden surrounded by fierce, tender, loving women whose secret gifts turn out to be connected to the legend that defines their town. (Age 13 and older)
CCBC Choices 2024. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2024. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
In this beautifully dark and enthralling YA, four sisters with unusual talents investigate a mysterious disappearance in their secluded Appalachian town. For fans of House of Hollow and Wilder Girls!
In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.
Like her sisters, Linden was born with an unusual ability. She can taste what others are feeling, but this so-called gift soured her relationship with the vexingly attractive Cole Spencer one fateful night a year ago . . . A night when Linden vanished into the depths of the Forest and returned with no memories of what happened, just a litany of questions—and a haze of nightmares that suggest there’s more to her story than simply getting lost.
Now, during the hottest summer on record, another girl in town is gone, and the similarities to last year’s events are striking. Except, this time the missing girl doesn’t make it home, and when her body is discovered, the scene unmistakably spells murder.
As tempers boil over, Linden enlists the help of her sisters to find what’s hiding in the forest . . . before it finds her. But as she starts digging for truth—about the Moth-Winged Man rumored to haunt the Hollow, about her bitter rift with Cole, and even about her family—she must question if some secrets are best left buried.
In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.
Like her sisters, Linden was born with an unusual ability. She can taste what others are feeling, but this so-called gift soured her relationship with the vexingly attractive Cole Spencer one fateful night a year ago . . . A night when Linden vanished into the depths of the Forest and returned with no memories of what happened, just a litany of questions—and a haze of nightmares that suggest there’s more to her story than simply getting lost.
Now, during the hottest summer on record, another girl in town is gone, and the similarities to last year’s events are striking. Except, this time the missing girl doesn’t make it home, and when her body is discovered, the scene unmistakably spells murder.
As tempers boil over, Linden enlists the help of her sisters to find what’s hiding in the forest . . . before it finds her. But as she starts digging for truth—about the Moth-Winged Man rumored to haunt the Hollow, about her bitter rift with Cole, and even about her family—she must question if some secrets are best left buried.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.