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Sometimes you have to return to the place where you began, to
arrive at the place where you belong.
It's the early 1970s. The town of Ringgold, Georgia, has a
population of 1,923, one traffic light, one Dairy Queen, and one
Catherine Grace Cline. The daughter of Ringgold's third-generation
Baptist preacher, Catherine Grace is quick-witted, more than a
little stubborn, and dying to escape her small-town life.
Every Saturday afternoon, she sits at the Dairy Queen, eating Dilly
Bars and plotting her getaway to the big city of Atlanta. And when,
with the help of a family friend, the dream becomes a reality,
Catherine Grace immediately packs her bags, leaving her family and
the boy she loves to claim the life she's always imagined. But
before things have even begun to get off the ground in Atlanta,
tragedy brings her back home. As a series of extraordinary events
alters her perspective-and sweeping changes come to Ringgold
itself-Catherine Grace begins to wonder if her place in the world
may actually be, against all odds, right where she began.
Nobody in Nashville has a bigger name to live up to than Bezellia
Grove. As a Grove, she belongs to one of city's most prominent
families and is expected to embrace her position in high society.
That means speaking fluent French, dancing at cotillions with boys
from other important families, and mastering the art of the perfect
smile.
Also looming large is her given name Bezellia, which has been
passed down for generations to the first daughter born to the
eldest Grove. The others in the long line of Bezellias shortened
the ancestral name to Bee, Zee or Zell. But Bezellia refuses all
nicknames and dreams that one day she, too, will be remembered for
her original namesake's courage and passion.
Though she leads a life of privilege, being a Grove is far from
easy. Her mother hides her drinking but her alcoholism is hardly a
secret. Her father, who spends long hours at work, is distant and
inaccessible. For as long as she can remember, she's been raised by
Maizelle, the nanny, and Nathaniel, the handyman. To Bezellia,
Maizelle and Nathaniel are cherished family members. To her
parents, they will never be more than servants.
Relationships are complicated in 1960s Nashville, where society
remains neatly ordered by class, status and skin color. Black
servants aren't supposed to eat at the same table as their white
employers. Black boys aren't supposed to make conversation with
white girls. And they certainly aren't supposed to fall in love.
When Bezellia has a clandestine affair with Nathaniel's son,
Samuel, their romance is met with anger and fear from both
families. In a time and place where rebelling against the rules
carries a steep price, Bezellia Grove must decide which of her
names will be the one that defines her.
"From the Hardcover edition."
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