Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles

Bailey and her little brother, Kevin, have been dropped off at their grandmother’s to spend a month on the island while their parents attend a marriage camp, trying to find a way to stay together. Bailey is quick to make friends, and she and a neighbor boy, Daniel, become best friends immediately, exploring, swimming, and getting to know the island prognosticator, Jasper, former minister of the church. He foretells some interesting events, and Bailey grabs onto his foretelling as the answer to many of the problems she perceives in her life — her parents’ crumbling marriage, Daniel’s cystic fibrosis, and more. But miracles are hard to come by and don’t always happen as expected.

Author Shari Green has pulled off a terrific feat. She writes this affecting book in first person point of view in young Bailey’s voice in beautiful, lyrical blank verse — and it works seamlessly. The voice is pitch perfect for a young girl, the characters are all fully developed and completely believable, and the story will leave readers deeply moved and wanting more. This lovely book deserves a far wider readership than the middle-grade audience to which it is being marketed. Don’t miss this one.