Surprise Lily

Ten-year-old Rose's perfect life is upended when her long-absent disaster of a mother turns up. Can she hold her family together as everything unravels?

Growing up on the farm it was always just Rose and grandma, working the land that had been in the Lovell family for generations. She doesn't miss her mother, Iris, a bit.

In fact, when Iris shows up, Rose is furious. But when an ugly argument between her mother and grandmother reveals painful truths about their family history, Rose runs away. . . . And inadvertently discovers her secret little sister, Lily.

Generations of whispered secrets and family dysfunction surface as Rose struggles to reconcile the home and life she loves with the history she never knew-- and to protect Lily at all costs. Even if it means letting Iris into her life.

In alternating chapters, previous generations of Lovell women narrate their experiences on the farm, adding depth and context to this powerful story of complex families and unconditional love. Moranville's captivating prose will keep readers turning the pages as Rose grapples with her changing life and learns the truth about her family-- mothers, daughters, and women who weren't ready to be either.

Sharelle Byars Moranville is the author of the author of critically acclaimed middle grade novels Over the River and 27 Magic Words, which received starred reviews in School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews and was a 2017 Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts. She lives in West Des Moines, Iowa.