Description

Synopsis:

2017 Christianity Today “Award of Merit” winner
2017 Christy Award winner! (General Fiction category)
The summer of 1972 was the most pivotal of Matt Plumley’s childhood. While his beloved Pirates battle for back-to-back World Series titles, Matt’s family moves from Pittsburgh to Dogwood, West Virginia, where his father steps into the pulpit of a church under the thumb of town leader Basil Blackwood. A fish out of water, Matt is relieved to forge a fast bond with two unlikely friends: Dickie Darrel Lee Hancock, a mixed-race boy, and Jesse Woods, a tough-as-nails girl with a sister on her hip and no dad in sight.

As the trio traipses the hills and hollers, Matt begins to fall for Jesse, and their promises to each other draw him deeper into her terrifying reality. One night, the wrath of the Blackwoods and the secrets of Jesse’s family collide, and Matt joins Jesse in a rescue that saves one life and ends another . . . and severs the bond of their friendship.

Years later, Matt is pulled back to Dogwood and to memories of that momentous summer by news of Jesse’s upcoming wedding. He could never shake the feeling that there was more to the story of that fateful night, and he’s determined to learn the truth behind the only promise Jesse Woods ever broke.

From the Back Cover:

“I remember it all . . . especially the parts I try to forget.”
1972. While the Vietnam War rages overseas and his beloved Pirates battle for back-to-back World Se-ries titles, Matt Plumley’s family moves to Dogwood, West Virginia, where he quickly bonds with two unlikely friends for a preacher’s kid: Dickie Darrel Lee Hancock, a mixed-race boy, and Jesse Woods, a tough-as-nails Appalachian girl. As the trio traipses the hills and hollers, Matt falls for Jesse, and their promises to each other draw him deeper into her terri-fying reality. One night, the river of Jesse’s secrets overflows and Matt joins her in a res-cue that saves one life and ends another . . . and mysteriously severs the bond of their friend-ship.

Years later, Matt is pulled back to Dogwood, haunted by memories of that momentous summer and news of Jesse’s upcoming wedding. He always suspected there was more to the story of that fateful night, and he’s determined to learn the truth behind the only promise Jesse Woods ever broke.