Years before Holland and Geneva Shepard were born, their parents had another family. Three children, John, Elizabeth, and Kevin, who were killed in a car accident as teenagers. That was almost 20 years ago, and now Holland, who is 13, and her younger sister, Geneva, live in a household where the memory of the brothers and sister they never met--the family they were never a part of--haunts their existence. Their mother and father are loving in an uptight, distant, undemonstrative way that starkly contrasts with the old photographs Holland and Geneva sometimes sneak a look at in which their parents and older siblings hug, embrace and laugh with ease. "I knew it," Geneva tells Holland. "The parents used up all the love on them." Geneva is prone to severe panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive behavior, and Holland is the one who often caretakes for her sister, with a maturity and understanding that defy her age although she also grows tired of the way Geneva manipulates their lives. But from the very moment Annie first enters their house, things begin to change. "It seems to me your mom and dad got a great second chance, right?...Lucky for them," Annie tells the sisters early on. "It is strange to think of the parents as blessed and lucky," Holland thinks as she considers people's reactions when they hear about the death of the other Shepards. "People almost never describe them that way." But who is this pale, ethereal young woman named Annie and where did she come from? As readers are drawn into this intricate novel that is grounded by Holland's perceptive, down-to-earth voice, they will be compelled by that very question as well as by the slowly changing landscape of Holland and Geneva's emotional lives. Is Annie real? Is she a ghost? Or is she imaginary, conjured in Holland and Geneva's minds to help their family heal? It's up to the individual reader to decide in this beautifully written, fascinating story. (Ages 11-14)

DIVIn a house full of dark memories, two sisters try to escape the past/divDIV
Holland Shepard is a responsible teenager who spends her life trying to keep her feelings inside. Her sister Geneva is the opposite—a bundle of nerves who dreads sentimentality, but suffers so acutely from nervous disorders that a ride in an elevator is enough to send her into a fit. The girls are like summer and fall—close, yet utterly distinct—but in their parents’ house, they are growing up almost as ghosts. Because this home belongs to John, Kevin, and Elizabeth—Holland and Geneva’s siblings, who died before the girls were born./divDIV /divDIVBurdened by grief, their parents cannot bond with the daughters who replaced their original family, and so it is left to Holland to look out for herself and her sister. When a mysterious artist comes to paint a mural in their house, the girls get a glimpse into their family’s past and a chance to find themselves a place in its future./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features a personal history by Adele Griffin including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection./div