Lemon Drop Falls (Paperback)

Morgan is devastated by her mother’s sudden death. Before, Mom’s amazing organizational skills kept the family on track, and her bowl of lemon drops was always on hand to make difficult conversations easy, turning life’s sour into sweet. After, there’s no one to help Morgan navigate her new role caring for her younger siblings, her worries about starting junior high, and her increasingly confusing friendships. All she can do is try to fulfill her mother’s final request: Keep them safe, Morgan. Be brave for them. Help them be happy. When Dad insists on taking the family on their regular summer camping trip, and Morgan’s efforts to keep her promise to Mom seem doomed to fail, Morgan’s anxiety spirals into a panic attack, and Dad treats her like she’s impossibly broken. Unable to share her fears and needs with Dad, and desperate to prove she’s got the strength to hold the family together, Morgan sets off alone to hike a flooding canyon trail. But somewhere on that lonely and dangerous journey, Morgan will encounter the truth about the final words her mother left her, the power in finding her own voice, and the possibility of new beginnings. Click to Preview. 

2022 Moonbeam Awards Gold Medalist (Pre-Teen Fiction – Mature Issues)

A 2022 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Gold Winner, Juvenile Fiction

2023 IPPY Awards Gold Medalist, Juvenile Fiction

Foreword Reviews

“Poignant and harrowing, the novel Lemon Drop Falls is about a tough girl who deals with grief, anxiety, and family challenges across one powerful summer.” 

Kirkus Reviews

“The depictions of grief and anxiety . . . are authentic and relatable, and the author’s own experiences lend credence to both.”

Children's Literature

“Young readers will connect with the expertly told story, written in dual time periods, before and after Morgan’s mother’s death . . . [T]his story can be used to help others in grief, finding some sweetness beneath the sour.”