A mysterious note takes Dani Beans into the secrets of Ole Miss and its dark past in this compelling new middle grade novel from the author of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy.

“Sooner or later, we’re all gonna be okay.”

That’s what Dani’s Grandma Beans used to say. But that was before she got Alzheimer’s. Lately, Dani isn’t so sure Grandma Beans was right. In fact, she isn’t sure of a lot of things, like why Mac Richardson suddenly doesn’t want to be her friend, and why Grandma Beans and Avadelle Richardson haven’t spoken in decades. Lately, Grandma Beans doesn’t make a lot of sense. But when she tells Dani to find a secret key and envelope that she’s hidden, Dani can’t ignore her. So she investigates, with the help of her friend, Indri, and her not-friend, Mac. Their investigation takes them deep into the history of Oxford, Mississippi, and the riots surrounding the desegregation of Ole Miss. The deeper they dig, the more secrets they uncover. Were Grandma Beans and Avadelle at Ole Miss the night of the Meredith Riot? And why would they keep it a secret?

The more Dani learns about her grandma’s past, the more she learns about herself and her own friendships—and it’s not all good news. History and present day collide in this mystery that explores how echoes of the past can have profound consequences.

 

Susan Vaught is the author of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy, which won the 2016 Edgar Award in the Best Juvenile category and was a Junior Library Guild Selection. The Horn Book called it “compelling, offbeat, and fearless.” Her many books for teens include Trigger, which received three starred reviews and was an ALA Best Books for Young Adults; Insanity; My Big Fat Manifesto; and Freaks Like Us. She works as a neuropsychologist at a state psychiatric facility, specializing in helping people with severe and persistent mental illness, intellectual disability, and traumatic brain injury. She lives on a farm with her wife and son in rural western Kentucky.

 

A provocative, sensitive, and oh-so-timely read. ---- (Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW)

Ambitious, thought provoking, and very readable. ---- (Booklist, STARRED REVIEW)

Vaught deftly balances family story and mystery, and the racial attitudes and experiences of biracial Dani and white Mac contrast starkly with those of their elders but cannot fully insulate them from the families’ strained histories. The awaited revelation of the reason for the Magnolia Feud—Avadelle’s appropriation of Ruth’s civil rights experiences, which she fictionalized into a novel—is definitely dramatic. Perhaps more importantly, it’s challenging, forcing the reader to consider such thorny issues as who has the right to tell a story and how does the legacy of segregation continue to affect kids generations removed from its legal demise. ---- (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books)