Light Changes Everything
A Novel
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
“I adored stepping into to the world of the Prines through tough-as-rawhide Mary Pearl. Light Changes Everything is a novel as gritty and authentic as the women of the Arizona Territory. Nancy E. Turner brings the west and its people fully to life.” –Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
Bestselling author Nancy E. Turner returns to the world of Sarah Agnes Prine through the wide-eyes of her irrepressible young niece, Mary Pearl.
It’s the summer of 1907 and the sun is scorching down on Mary Pearl in the Arizona Territory. Mary Pearl and her sister Esther take their minds off the heat by sneaking banned Jane Austen novels from Aunt Sarah Elliot’s lively bookshelf. Whispered read alouds preoccupy their nights, and reveries of getting hitched to their own Mr. Darcy à la Pride and Prejudice swirl through their day dreams.
In walks old-fashioned old-money suitor Aubrey Hanna, here to whisk seventeen year old Mary Pearl off her feet with a forbidden kiss and hasty engagement. With the promise of high society outings and a rich estate, Aubrey’s lustful courtship quickly creates petty tension among the three generations of Prine women.
As autumn approaches all too quickly, Mary Pearl’s Wheaton College acceptance counters quick marriage preparations. Days of travel by horse and by train carry her deep into a sophisticated new world of Northern girls’ schooling. Seeking friendship but finding foes, Mary Pearl not only learns how to write, read, and draw, but also how to act, dress, and be a woman.
Light Changes Everything is the story of a resilient young feminist a century ahead of her time. Full of gumption and spirit, Mary Pearl’s evocative coming of age tale is destined to be the next American classic.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her warm-hearted latest, Turner (The Star Garden) returns to the Arizona Territories and the world of Sarah Agnes Prine. This time, the story begins in 1907 and is told by Sarah's niece, 17-year-old Mary Pearl Prine, who rarely leaves home without her pistol and her beloved horse, Duende. Mary Pearl's Aunt Sarah fostered a love of books and learning, and though Mary Pearl loves her large family, she longs to see the world outside her pa's pecan farm, so she's thrilled when she's invited to attend art school at Wheaton College in Illinois. A quick betrothal complicates her plans, but at Wheaton she discovers a love of photography and finds joy in new friendships. After a terrible betrayal from someone close to her, Mary Pearl's future is imperiled, and when range wars threaten her family, she leaves Wheaton to help. Turner's satisfying, immersive, and often heart-pounding tale of one indomitable young woman's frontier life, touched by tragedy and hope, is realistically drawn, and readers will warm to her portrayal of Mary Pearl's chaotic but loving family life. Fans of the popular Sarah Agnes Prine novels and new readers alike will fall in love with the smart and spirited Mary Pearl.
