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Mother Land: A Novel
by Leah Franqui“Lively and evocative, Mother Land is a deftly crafted exploration of identity and culture, with memorable and deeply human characters who highlight how that which makes us different can ultimately unite us.”—Amy Myerson, author of The Bookshop of Yesterdays and The ImperfectsFrom the critically acclaimed author of America for Beginners, a wonderfully insightful, witty, and heart-piercing novel, set in Mumbai, about an impulsive American woman, her headstrong Indian mother-in-law, and the unexpected twists and turns of life that bond them.When Rachel Meyer, a thirtysomething foodie from New York, agrees to move to Mumbai with her Indian-born husband, Dhruv, she knows some culture shock is inevitable. Blessed with a curious mind and an independent spirit, Rachel is determined to learn her way around the hot, noisy, seemingly infinite metropolis she now calls home. But the ex-pat American’s sense of adventure is sorely tested when her mother-in-law, Swati, suddenly arrives from Kolkata—a thousand miles away—alone, with an even more shocking announcement: she’s left her husband of more than forty years and moving in with them. Nothing the newlyweds say can budge the steadfast Swati, and as the days pass, it becomes clear she is here to stay—an uneasy situation that becomes more difficult when Dhruv is called away on business. Suddenly these two strong-willed women from such very different backgrounds, who see life so differently, are alone together in a home that each is determined to run in her own way—a situation that ultimately brings into question the very things in their lives that had seemed perfect and permanent . . . with results neither of them expect.Heartfelt, charming, deeply insightful and wise, Mother Land introduces us to two very different women from very different cultures . . . who maybe aren’t so different after all.
Mother Less Child
by Jacquelyn MitchardWith a strong new marriage, careers in journalism, and plans for a family, the future looks promising for the author and her husband until the pervasive impact of infertility overwhelms their relationship.
A Mother Like Mine (A Hartley-by-the-Sea Novel #3)
by Kate HewittWelcome to England&’s beautiful Lake District, where a reluctant reunion forges a new bond between a daughter and her wayward mother.... Abby Rhodes is just starting to get her life on track. After her fiancé&’s unexpected death, she returned with her young son to the small village where she grew up and threw herself into helping her ailing grandmother run the town's beach café. Then one evening, her mother, Laura, shows up in Hartley-by-the-Sea and announces her plan to stay. After twenty years away, she now wants to focus on the future—and has no intention, it seems, of revisiting the painful past. Laura Rhodes has made a lot of mistakes, and many of them concern her daughter. But as Abby gets little glimpses into her mother's life, she begins to realize there are depths to Laura she never knew. Slowly, Abby and Laura start making tentative steps toward each other, only to have life become even more complicated when an unexpected tragedy arises. Together, the two women will discover truths both sad and surprising that draw them closer to a new understanding of what it means to truly forgive someone you love.
Mother Massage: A Handbook for Relieving the Discomforts of Pregnancy
by Elaine StillermanA Handbook for Relieving the Discomforts of PregnancyMassage is a sensuous, relaxing, and loving treatment that has the added bonus of being especially good for you. It's the perfect way to reduce stress and promote general well-being. During pregnancy, your body is undergoing many changes, some of them stressful and discomforting. Mother Massage, by licensed massage therapist Elaine Stillerman, is a beautifully illustrated guide to help eliminate some of these adverse effects. Designed to be used either alone or with a partner, Mother Massage provides techniques for a variety of massages, including full body massage, preparation for labor and birthing massage, massage during the postpartum and nursing stages, and infant massage. These techniques are explained in step-by-step, illustrated detail. You'll also learn special massages for treating such discomforts as:* Backaches * Breast Soreness * Charley Horse and Leg Cramps * Headaches * Heartburn * Fatigue * Morning Sickness * Sciatica * Stretch Marks * Varicose Veins * And Many OthersAlso included are sections on reflexology, herbal remedies, and nutritional requirements for pregnant and lactating women.
Mother Matters: A Holistic Guide to Being a Happy, Healthy Mom
by Dayna M. KurtzMillions of mothers are born each year. From the moment a baby is born, the world seems to focus on childcare, but what about mothercare? Enter Dayna Kurtz, the brains behind Huffington Post's Mother Matters blog. From postpartum depression and "baby blues" to healing meals and postnatal exercise, Kurtz guides new and veteran mothers alike through the best practices to care for themselves during their first year of motherhood. Her unique approach also includes less common methods like acupressure, expressive arts therapy, and more to help mothers boost their mental health and reclaim their identity. Backed by irrefutable research and personal anecdotes, Mother Matters is the guide every mother needs to not only survive but thrive!
Mother Media: Hot and Cool Parenting in the Twentieth Century
by Hannah ZeavinAn essential history for understanding how we mother now, and how motherhood itself became a medium—winner of the Brooke Hindle Award from the Society for the History of Technology.From the nursery to the prison, from the clinic to the commune, Mother Media tells the story of how we arrived at our contemporary understanding of what a mother is and how understandings of &“bad&” mothering formed our contemporary panics about &“bad&” media. In this book, leading historian of psychology Hannah Zeavin examines twentieth-century pediatric, psychological, educational, industrial, and economic norms around mediated mothering and technologized parenting. The book charts the crisis of the family across the twentieth century and the many ingenious attempts to remediate nursemaid and mother via speculative technologies and screen media.Growing out of her previous award-winning book The Distance Cure, which considered technologized care, the book lays bare the contradictions of techno-parenting and how it relates to conceptions of &“maternal fitness,&” medical redlining, and surveillance of children, parents, and other caregivers. The author offers narratives of parenting in its extremity (for example, Shaken Baby Syndrome) and its ostensible banality (for example, the Nanny Cam) and how the two are often intertwined. Ultimately, Zeavin grapples with a simple contradiction: technology is seen and judged as harmful in domestic and educational spaces, even as it is a saving grace in the unending labor of raising a family.
Mother Mother: The Sunday Times Bestseller
by Annie MacmanusTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER'A brilliant book...that explores the brutal legacy of addiction and the consequences of a deep grief left to stagnate' SARA COX'A work of gilded melancholy that is going to take everyone by surprise' UNA MULLALLY'Macmanus writes with flair and confidence rarely seen in a debut' SINÉAD GLEESONOne Saturday morning, TJ McConnell wakes up to find his mother, Mary, gone. He doesn't know where - or why - but he's the only one who can help find her.Mary grew up longing for information about the mother she never knew. Her brother could barely remember her, and their father numbed his pain with drink.Now aged thirty-seven, Mary has lived in the same house her whole life. She's never left Belfast. TJ, who's about to turn eighteen, is itching to see more of the world.But when his mother disappears, TJ begins to realise what he's been taking for granted.MOTHER MOTHER takes us down the challenging road of Mary's life while following TJ's increasingly desperate search for her, as he begins to discover what has led her to this point. This is a story about family, grief, addiction and motherhood, and it asks an important question - if you spend your life giving everything to the ones you love, do you risk losing yourself along the way?'A tender, surprising, occasionally bleak, moving and delicate book' Irish Times'A study of grief, addiction and what it means to be a mother' Stylist'Melancholy, beautifully unadorned prose' Mail on Sunday'Unflinching and unsparing but also beautifully written' Daily Mail'An incredible debut' Daily Mirror'A page-turning exploration of grief, addiction, young motherhood and unbreakable family ties' British Vogue
Mother Mother: The Sunday Times Bestseller
by Annie Macmanus'A brilliant book...that explores the brutal legacy of addiction and the consequences of a deep grief left to stagnate' SARA COX'A work of gilded melancholy that is going to take everyone by surprise' UNA MULLALLY'Macmanus writes with flair and confidence rarely seen in a debut' SINÉAD GLEESONOne Saturday morning, TJ McConnell wakes up to find his mother, Mary, gone. He doesn't know where - or why - but he's the only one who can help find her.Mary grew up longing for information about the mother she never knew. Her brother could barely remember her, and their father numbed his pain with drink.Now aged thirty-seven, Mary has lived in the same house her whole life. She's never left Belfast. TJ, who's about to turn eighteen, is itching to see more of the world.But when his mother disappears, TJ begins to realise what he's been taking for granted.MOTHER MOTHER takes us down the challenging road of Mary's life while following TJ's increasingly desperate search for her, as he begins to discover what has led her to this point. This is a story about family, grief, addiction and motherhood, and it asks an important question - if you spend your life giving everything to the ones you love, do you risk losing yourself along the way?'Tender and deeply felt, [Mother Mother] is a beautiful portrayal of the pain and beauty of normal life, told in hauntingly lyrical prose. Poignant and beautifully observed, it was a novel that stayed with me a long time' Clover Stroud'Brave and occasionally heartbreaking... Macmanus' debut novel is assured, evocative and, like her characters, full of gentle strength' Jan Carson'So beautifully written... Moving and brilliant' Emily Eavis'Superb... [Macmanus is] brilliant at voice and motivation and the (historic and emotional) passage of time; at making households so vivid you know their smell' Laura Snapes
Mother Mother: The 2021 Sunday Times Bestseller
by Annie MacmanusTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER, JUNE 2021'A brilliant book...that explores the brutal legacy of addiction and the consequences of a deep grief left to stagnate' SARA COX'A work of gilded melancholy that is going to take everyone by surprise' UNA MULLALLY'Macmanus writes with flair and confidence rarely seen in a debut' SINÉAD GLEESONOne Saturday morning, TJ McConnell wakes up to find his mother, Mary, gone. He doesn't know where - or why - but he's the only one who can help find her.Mary grew up longing for information about the mother she never knew. Her brother could barely remember her, and their father numbed his pain with drink.Now aged thirty-seven, Mary has lived in the same house her whole life. She's never left Belfast. TJ, who's about to turn eighteen, is itching to see more of the world.But when his mother disappears, TJ begins to realise what he's been taking for granted.MOTHER MOTHER takes us down the challenging road of Mary's life while following TJ's increasingly desperate search for her, as he begins to discover what has led her to this point. This is a story about family, grief, addiction and motherhood, and it asks an important question - if you spend your life giving everything to the ones you love, do you risk losing yourself along the way?'A tender, surprising, occasionally bleak, moving and delicate book' Irish Times'A study of grief, addiction and what it means to be a mother' Stylist'Melancholy, beautifully unadorned prose' Mail on Sunday'Unflinching and unsparing but also beautifully written' Daily Mail'An incredible debut' Daily Mirror'A page-turning exploration of grief, addiction, young motherhood and unbreakable family ties' British Vogue
Mother, mother: The Sisters, Mother, Mother And Dark Rooms
by Koren ZailckasFrom Koren Zailckas, author of the iconic memoir SMASHED: an electrifying debut novel about a family being torn apart by the woman who claims to love them most Josephine Hurst has her family under control. With two beautiful daughters, a brilliantly intelligent son, a tech-guru of a husband, and a historical landmark home, her life is picture perfect. But living in this matriarch's determinedly cheerful, yet subtly controlling domain hasn't been easy for her family, and when her oldest daughter, Rose, runs off with a mysterious boyfriend, Josephine tightens her grip, gradually turning her flawless home into a darker sort of prison. Resentful of her sister's newfound freedom, Violet turns to eastern philosophy, hallucinogenic drugs, and extreme fasting, eventually landing herself in a psych ward. Meanwhile, her brother, Will, recently diagnosed with Asperger's, shrinks further into a world of self-doubt. Their father, Douglas, finds resolve in the bottom of a bottle--an addict craving his own chance to escape. Josephine struggles to maintain the family's impeccable faCade, but when a violent incident leads to a visit from child protective services, the truth about the Hursts might finally be revealed. Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader's guide and bonus content
Mother Murphy
by Colleen O'Shaughnessy MckennaWhen Mrs. Murphy has to get off her feet because she's expecting a baby, Collette takes over with surprising results.
Mother Noise: A Memoir
by Cindy HouseA poignant and beautiful memoir told in essays and graphic shorts about what life looks like twenty years after recovery from addiction—and how to live with the past as a parent, writer, and sober person—from a regular opener for David Sedaris, Cindy House.Mother Noise opens with Cindy, twenty years into recovery after a heroin addiction, grappling with how to tell her nine-year-old son about her past. She wants him to learn this history from her, not anyone else; but she worries about the effect this truth may have on him. Told in essays and graphic narrative shorts, Mother Noise is a stunning memoir that delves deep into our responsibilities as parents while celebrating the moments of grace and generosity that mark a true friendship—in this case, her benefactor and champion through the years, David Sedaris. This is a powerful memoir about addiction, motherhood, and Cindy&’s ongoing effort to reconcile the two. Are we required to share with our children the painful details of our past, or do we owe them protection from the harsh truth of who we were before? With dark humor and brutal, clear-eyed honesty, Mother Noise brilliantly captures and gorgeously renders our desire to look hopefully forward—while acknowledging the darkness of the past.
Mother Number Zero
by Marjolijn HofA Society of School Librarians International (SSLI) Honor Book Fay was adopted when he was a baby. He knows only that his birth mother escaped the war in Bosnia and that he arrived in his new home with nothing more than a squeaky toy and a few clothes. His older sister Bing was adopted too, from China, where she was found abandoned on the street. When Fay's friend Maud discovers he is adopted, she urges him to search for his birth mother, but this creates mayhem at home, since there is no possibility of Bing ever being able to find her birth mother. Gradually Fay's complicated feelings about searching for his mother and his ambivalent feelings for Maud unfold. Hof's insight into human nature results in a truthful, sometimes funny, sometimes painful rendering of family life and the challenges of being adopted.
Mother Nurture: Life Lessons from the Mothers of America's Best and Brightest
by Stephanie HirschWhere did Beyoncé get her groove?Where did Lance Armstrong get his drive?Where did Steven Spielberg get his creative vision?Every success story begins with . . . MomWhen Stephanie Hirsch gave birth to her son, she began to think about the kind of person she'd like him to be: generous, family oriented, loving, courageous, and professionally accomplished—maybe he'd turn out like Steven Spielberg! But what, she wondered, had Spielberg's mother done so well?What started out as one conversation with Steven Spielberg's mom became a quest to interview the mothers of some of the most talented artists, brilliant journalists, and dedicated athletes of our time.Mother Nurture is an inspiring collection of fifty-two stories filled with commonsense advice and memorable personal tales from caring mothers whose children have reached the apex of their fields, from sports, politics, and music to literature, entertainment, and business.If you're expecting, or a parent, or you just want to thank the woman who raised you, Mother Nurture is both the perfect antidote to piles of contradictory parenting advice and a celebration of the gift of motherhood.
Mother Ocean Father Nation: A Novel
by Nishant BatshaA riveting, tender debut novel, following a brother and sister whose paths diverge—one forced to leave, one left behind—in the wake of a nationalist coup in the South PacificOn a small Pacific island, a brother and sister tune in to a breaking news radio bulletin. It is 1985, and an Indian grocer has just been attacked by nativists aligned with the recent military coup. Now, fear and shock are rippling through the island’s deeply-rooted Indian community as racial tensions rise to the brink.Bhumi hears this news from her locked-down dorm room in the capital city. She is the ambitious, intellectual standout of the family—the one destined for success. But when her friendship with the daughter of a prominent government official becomes a liability, she must flee her unstable home for California.Jaipal feels like the unnoticed, unremarkable sibling, always left to fend for himself. He is stuck working in the family store, avoiding their father’s wrath, with nothing but his hidden desires to distract him. Desperate for money and connection, he seizes a sudden opportunity to take his life into his own hands for the first time. But his decision may leave him vulnerable to the island’s escalating volatility.Spanning from the lush terrain of the South Pacific to the golden hills of San Francisco, Mother Ocean Father Nation is an entrancing debut about how one family, at the mercy of a nation broken by legacies of power and oppression, forges a path to find a home once again.
The Mother of All Christmases
by Milly JohnsonFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author, The Mother of All Christmases is a gorgeous read full of love, life, laughter, a few tears - and crackers!&‘The feeling you get when you read a Milly Johnson book should be bottled and made available on the NHS&’ Debbie JohnsonEve Glace - co-owner of the theme park Winterworld - is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she&’s decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them … Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, and are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren&’t typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable. Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep?Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the &‘Christmas Pudding Club&’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches? 'Full of love and laughter' Daily Express 'Full of characters you can identify with and an uplifting sense of warmth' Debbie Johnson &‘Johnson is a bona fide commercial blockbuster author and her latest offering is a treat … a properly juicy novel' Grazia &‘Always rooted in the deep issues that shape and shake women&’s lives … Sprinkled with festive cheer&’ The Lady'Brings love, life and laughter' Yours 'A festive-themed, big-hearted feast bursting with love, laughter, tears, a cast of characters that readers will love as much as their own best friends' Lancashire Post 'Every time you discover a new Milly book, it&’s like finding a pot of gold' heat
The Mother of All Decisions: A Memoir of Mother Loss, Legacy, and Adopting Kids in Midlife
by Betsy ArmstrongIn the blink of an eye life can become a reminder of the dreams and goals you let go of. When Betsy Armstrong&’s mother unexpectedly dies, she makes the choice to be better than the mistakes of her family&’s past and build anew in the life she wants and dreams of.What is legacy, and how will I leave one? Betsy Armstrong asks herself this question after her forty-six-year-old mother dies with a list of regrets and her stepfather completely disinherits her. Alone, Betsy sets about building a life of no regrets: becoming a marathon runner and Ironman triathlete, quitting a cushy corporate job to lead a life of service, and overcoming a crippling fear of commitment to marry. Still, she&’s always running from the grief she can&’t escape. As Betsy&’s forty-seventh birthday approaches, she finally confronts her losses and begins reflecting on the one thing she&’d never considered: children. Inspired by a friend&’s adoption, Betsy and her husband, Doug, choose that path but face daunting obstacles—a failed adoption, a Russian courtroom drama, and a medical crisis in a tiny Russian town seven time zones away from Moscow. As the outcome of the adoption waxes and wanes, Betsy is forced to make the biggest decision of her life: How far will she go to become a mother?
The Mother of All Field Trips: Homeschooling Two Kids in 14 Countries
by Jeannie RalstonWhen her two boys were 9 and 11, this adventure journalist and her National Geographic photographer husband decided to hell with boring old school: what better way to learn about history, culture, languages—and each other—than traveling together around the world? So the family set out on what turned into a three-year adventure that included the Great Wall of China, Egypt during the Arab Spring, leopard-spotting in Serengeti, the heights of Machu Picchu, World War II landmarks in Normandy, a civil rights lesson in Selma, and so much more. By the end, not only were they closer as a family, they became true global citizens and explorers, bonded by a priceless trove of memories and experiences.
The Mother of All Things: A Novel
by Alexis LandauA daring novel from the acclaimed author of Those Who Are Saved: female rage, grief, and creativity collide in the present and animate the past, when a woman reconnects with her essential self during a summer journey, and discovers an ancient female world that offers parallels to her ownKept busy by her obligations as a wife and mother, art history professor Ava Zaretsky has little time to devote to her research and writing. Now tagging along on her film-producer husband&’s shoot in Bulgaria for the summer, where she&’s mostly solo parenting her sweet son and rebellious budding tween daughter, she has a chance encounter with her fierce feminist mentor from college, which changes everything.Ava is swept up into a circle of women who reenact ancient Greco-Roman mystery rites of initiation, bringing her research to life and illuminating the story of a 5th-century-BC mother-daughter pair whose sense of female loyalty to each other and connection to the divine feminine guides Ava in her exploration of the eternal stages of womanhood. Reaching across time and deep into the female psyche, The Mother of All Things delivers a revelatory tale of a woman coming to terms with her evolving sense of responsibility to herself and her family, as she achieves a new appreciation of the gifts of female wisdom and self-belief.
Mother of My Mother: The Intricate Bond Between Generations
by Hope EdelmanIn her bestselling Motherless Daughters, Hope Edelman articulated the effects of early mother loss with stunning courage and honesty. In doing so, she helped hundreds of thousands of women heal. Now, in her new book--part memoir, part reportage--she brilliantly explores the three-generational triangle from which women develop their female identities: the grandmother-mother-granddaughter relationship. Edelman writes that her grandmother and her mother together "defined the terms 'mother,' 'daughter,' and 'woman' for me. The three of us, in my memory, are separate yet linked, like sequential pearls on a strand." Drawing from her own experience and the recollections of more than seventy other granddaughters, Edelman constructs an eloquent, insightful narrative filled with stories of women who were each other's nurturers, confidantes, nemeses, and day-to-day supporters, among other roles. At the center of all these stories stands the maternal grandmother. In the pages of Mother of My Mother, readers will meet the "Gentle Giant," the matriarch who exercises behind-the-scenes power in her family; the "Autocrat," who rules her extended clan like a despot; and the "Kinkeeper," the grandmother who acts as the family's social, cultural, or religious center. Then, of course, there is Edelman's own maternal grandmother, the "Benevolent Manipulator," whose love for her family is rivaled only by her desire for control. Edelman's complicated, challenging, and dynamic relationship with her "colorful, opinionated, ubiquitous, stubborn, loving, patient ..." grandmother is the consistent thread that runs throughout the book.
Mother Of Pearl
by Maureen LeeA tragedy tears a family apart - a superb novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL.Pretty Amy Curran was just eighteen years old when she met Barney Patterson, the love of her life, on Southport Pier in 1939. Their romantic, passionate marriage was made in heaven - but with the outbreak of war, Barney volunteered to fight, and the couple were separated for five long years. When he returned to Liverpool after VE Day, he wasn't the same person - and neither was Amy.How could things have become so twisted that one day Amy would kill the husband she once so adored? And what happened to their little girl, Pearl, just five years old at the time?In 1971 Amy is released from prison - although her freedom will change the lives of others, not least that of her daughter. But Pearl has her own demons to exorcise in her quest for happiness. And the greatest question she must ask herself is this: can she ever love her mother after what she did?
Mother Of Pearl
by Maureen LeePretty Amy Curran was just eighteen years old when she met Barney Patterson, the love of her life, on Southport Pier in 1939. Their romantic, passionate marriage was made in heaven - but with the outbreak of war, Barney volunteered to fight, and the couple were separated for five long years. When he returned to Liverpool after VE Day he wasn't the same person - and neither was Amy.How could things have become so twisted that one day Amy would kill the husband she once so adored? And what happened to their little girl, Pearl, just five years old at the time?In 1971 Amy is released from prison - although her freedom will change the lives of others, not least that of her daughter. But Pearl has her own demons to exorcise in her quest for happiness. And the greatest question she must ask herself is this: can she ever love her mother after what she did?Read by Jacqueline King(p) 2008 Orion Publishing Group
Mother of Pearl: A Novel
by Edward SwiftThe hilarious chronicle of the McAlister clan, a collection of bickering southern eccentrics whose family history is a parade of missteps, mishaps, and certifiable insanityIn the later years of her life, widow and grandmother Pearl decides to return to East Texas and move in with her sister, Wanda Gay—despite the fact that the two have never agreed on anything. (It is no wonder that brother Frank preferred the relative quiet of a prison cell.) A particular bone of contention seems to be the perceived saintliness or demonic nature of their late mother, Eugenia Fane. An unbending, overbearing, man-hating matriarch who not-so-stoically endured her own mother, Eugenia set a standard that the McAlister women would find nearly impossible—and quite mad—to try to live up to. Through the disputed remembrances, distortions, and wound saltings of Wanda Gay and Pearl, the twisted personal history of the McAlister dynasty comes to light, revealing what it is exactly that makes a family endure in spite of itself.Like Faulkner in a funhouse, in Mother of Pearl, acclaimed author Edward Swift (Splendora) gives readers an extraordinary Southern gothic tale filled with unbridled dark humor, outrageous incidents, and wildly unforgettable characters.
Mother of the Year
by Karen Ross‘I often think my mother would prefer colonic irrigation to hanging out with me...’Beth Jackson is a national treasure, celebrated for her television shows and winning the Mother of the Year Award three times in a row.Only, her daughter just wishes that Beth would be more like a normal mum...
Mother, Please Don't Die
by Lurlene McdanielFeisty 13-year-old Megan McCaffery is proud to be a tomboy, and she just can't relate to the "southern belles" in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. Her older sister, Audrey, is driving her crazy with constant talk about her upcoming wedding. When a popular girl at school takes an interest in Megan's best friend, John-Paul. Megan is surprised at her own jealousy. Was she losing her tomboy edge? And when her mother's mysterious headaches turn out to be a brain tumor, Megan's world is truly turned upside-down.