Date Published: Feb 24, 2026
Publisher: Small Circles Press
“It’s the universe, Ivy Leigh, welcoming in a little change.” Mr. Winters, her neighbor, a wannabe cowboy, tells her one day. But change is so confusing. When a pair of bullies taunt her on the bus and tease her at school, Ivy makes a giant mistake.
With a mix of humor and poignant moments and a quirky cast of neighbors and friends, Ivy finds a way to understand herself and make up for that mistake she’s made. Best of all, Ivy remembers Momma: Feelings are like fireflies caught in a jar, Ivy Leigh. They belong in the open, where a warm breeze can carry them away!
Chapter One: The Package
“She’s coming for you, Peachy.”
He leaped off the bed and scrambled toward me. Together, we stood at the window, watching. I’d heard the roar of that muffler. The sound of the crash. It all spelled trouble. Up until now, Peachy was unknown to her. But I knew it would never stay that way. Dad was at work. She always knew the perfect time to strike.
“That was Mom’s gnome!” Nat’s shriek pierced the air, and I knew this was going to be bad. I took the stairs two at a time, in boxers and a tank top, with Peachy trailing behind. It was early on a Saturday, Viv was still in bed, and I hadn’t even brushed my teeth. But that never mattered to Grandma. This was a surprise attack; we were in her sights, and she had a total takeover in mind. I tucked Peachy away in his crate and latched him in tight before heading out to the front porch to see what was going on.
And there she was. Bulb shaped and full of bluster, Grandma stood with Nat at her side, staring down at the smashed garden gnome. He was pink-faced with a green hat and a little red jacket. Mom named him ‘Happy.’ He made her laugh just to look at him in the midst of her treatments and trips to and from the hospital. But now Happy was here all smashed up in the garden, and Mom had been gone for almost a whole awful year.
“That is the tackiest thing! People will question the sort of people who live in a house with a thing like that out front!”
Things went quiet for a moment, I don’t think Nat even knew what to say to that.
Gael Lynch is a writer and storyteller, a teacher whose love of kids and furry creatures has followed her throughout her life. She now lives in coastal Carolina, a place of sunny beaches and warm breezes with her husband Tom and her rambunctious golden retriever, Wrigley. However, Newtown, Connecticut, with its pastoral beauty and kind-hearted people will always be a place she calls home.
Twitter @gaellynch
Instagram: @lynchgael
No comments:
Post a Comment