The Harvest of Years

In a quiet rural home in the late 19th century, a girl named Emily Minot learns that "Emily did it" has become her family's weary refrain whenever she stumbles, drops something, or speaks at the wrong moment. This semi-autobiographical novel traces her painful, tender journey from awkward girlhood into womanhood, capturing every stumble of the heart along the way. Her relationship with her mother deepens into something beautiful and complex, while her bond with her brother Hal remains fraught with the particular cruelty of sibling rivalry. When her charming cousin Clara arrives with her son Louis, Emily's world expands in ways both wonderful and destabilizing: she finds a friend, a rival, and the first stirrings of love all at once. The novel excels at capturing the quiet ache of a girl who feels perpetually wrong-footed by life, still searching for where she belongs. For anyone who remembers the embarrassment of not fitting in, the sting of being the clumsy one, or the first, terrifying vulnerability of caring what someone thinks of you.