Writing books with heart ❤️
Recipient of the 2026 Christopher Award for creative work that “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.”
★ The Secret of Honeycake “employs stunningly beautiful, highly descriptive language…Powerful, emotional, and wondrous.”
Kirkus - Starred Review
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year!
A 2026 Bank Street College
Best Childrens’ Books of the Year
Listen to my interview with MiddleGradeMatters podcast
on how I found Hurricane’s voice in
The Secret of Honeycake
From the
Schneider Family Book Award-winning author
of
Tending to Grace
Beholding Bee
Chasing Augustus
The Wonder of Charlie Anne
Comes the inspiring tale
of a young writer
with a big imagination
who can hear the ocean in her heart
Published by Knopf BFYR, an imprint of Penguin Random House
I’m grateful for these starred reviews!
★ “God’s Bones! Magnificent.”
CHASING AUGUSTUS, Kirkus
★ “Good humor, kindness and courage triumph in this warm, richly nuanced novel that cheers the heart like a song sweetly sung.”
THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE, Kirkus
★ “This quiet, beautiful, first novel makes the search for home a searing drama.”
TENDING TO GRACE, Booklist
★ “Poetically portrays the human potential to fly after emerging from a cocoon of neglect.”
TENDING TO GRACE,
School Library Journal
★ “Charlie Anne’s voice … resonates…”
THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE,
School Library Journal
★ “Enthralling.”
BEHOLDING BEE, BookPage, Children’s Top Pick