Southern Indies Okra Pick pick, Anna Jean Mayhew is on tour with her debut novel, "The Dry Grass of August"; and with a following of adoring fans and rave reviews, The Book Worm is ready to open its doors!
North Carolina author Anna Jean Mayhew will be signing copies of her debut novel, "The Dry Grass of August", Friday, May 20th from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m., here at The Book Worm Bookstore. Fans of "The Help", get ready for another fantastic piece of fiction!
On a scorching day in August 1954, thirteen-year-old Jubie Watts leaves Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation. Crammed into the Packard along with Jubie are her three siblings, her mother, and the family's black maid, Mary Luther. For as long as Jubie can remember, Mary has been there--cooking, cleaning, compensating for her father's rages and her mother's benign neglect, and loving Jubie unconditionally.
Bright and curious, Jubie takes note of the anti-integration signs they pass, and of the racial tension that builds as they journey farther south. But she could never have predicted the shocking turn their trip would take. Now, in the wake of tragedy, Jubie must confront her parents' failings and limitations, decide where her own convictions lie, and make the tumultuous leap to independence...
Infused with the intensity of a changing time, here is a story of hope, heartbreak, and the love and courage that can transform us--from child to adult, from wounded to indomitable.
Anna Jean (A.J.) Mayhew, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, has never lived outside the state, although she often travels to Europe with her Swiss-born husband. Much of A.J.'s work reflects her vivid memories of growing up in the segregated South. A.J. has been a member of the same writing group since 1987, is a writer-in-residence at The Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, and is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Writers' Network. The Dry Grass of August is her first novel.
"THE DRY GRASS OF AUGUST is a haunting debut about family bonds that stretch without breaking, and a panoramic glimpse into an older America and the dying of an age. Young Jubie Watts is the perfect heroine and narrator of this tale with her clear-eyed look at the inconsistencies of the adults around her, and for her courage to ask 'why.' Ms. Mayhew creates authentic characters and a Southern setting that will make you feel and smell a summer day from half a century ago. A beautiful book that fans of THE HELP will enjoy."––– Karen White, New York Times bestselling author