Going On Nine

In the summer of 1956, a girl goes in search of freedom: “Chronicles a time of great change in America . . . will keep you reading long past your bedtime.” —Kelly O’Connor McNees, author of The Island of Doves

A child swipes her mother’s engagement ring, snatches her sister’s brand-new nightgown, and runs outside to play “bride.” She soon loses the ring, rips the gown, and, when she gets caught, decides it’s time to pack her suitcase and make a run for it. When the policeman brings her home that night, her parents’ reaction isn’t what she expected. In fact, they tell her to try living at some of her friends’ houses in their little St. Louis suburb, so she can find a better family…

What happens next is a summer-long journey in which Grace Mitchell rides shotgun in a Plymouth Belvedere, hunkers in the back of a rattletrap vegetable truck, crawls into a crumbling tunnel, dresses up with a prom queen, and keeps vigil in the bedroom of a molestation victim. There are reasons why Grace remembers the summer of 1956 for the rest of her life. Those are just a few. Through the eyes of a child and the mature woman she becomes, we make the journey with Grace and discover important truths about life, equality, family, and the soul-searching quest for belonging.