摘要：Naomi and her younger twin siblings Beto and Cari move from San Antonio to East Texas in 1936 to live with Henry Smith, Beto and Cari's father and Naomi's stepfather. Naomi adopts the last name Smith, and Beto is called "Robbie" at their European American school in New London. The children miss their San Antonio home and the presence of their loving grandparents, as Henry proves to be an unreliable and sometimes very cruel father figure. Then, an African-American teenager named James Washington "Wash" Fuller comes into their lives and makes their East Texas world much brighter. Naomi and Wash form a forbidden romance, as the racial lines in their area are pronounced. The two make plans for their future, but then, a disastrous school explosion changes everything. This is a moving, dark, and beautifully written novel about the importance of every life decision and the ability of love to transform.
