Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor

Told through multiple voices, Sycamore tells the story of people in a small town dealing with love, loss, and finding a place to call home.

When a girl's bones are found down in a rocky gully, it opens up the tumultuous past for both young and old members of the small town of Sycamore. I loved moving fluidly between the past and present, following the stories of the intertwining characters living in Sycamore. Written with heart and an understanding of what makes people choose to act, to love, to leave, and to say goodbye, Chancellor has given us a beautiful view of small-town life in the midst of public tragedy.

I grew up in a small town. So many of the things that define small towns are present in this lovely tale: the ever-present knowledge of everyone's else's business, seeing but not telling secrets, hiding shameful behaviors because everyone knows you.

Everyone knows. I think that's what Chancellor showed through her characters that I loved most: while everyone knows, everyone is gracious with each other's secrets and longings and needs. Not that things aren't ugly or bitter or twisted anyway. But that in the knowing, there can still be love.