Tara Pettit

Growing up, Thayer Wentworth knew three things about herself: She was an untamable, wild force, at least by her mother’s standards; her only true confidante was her exotic grandmother; and wherever she went, magic followed her. Although her elitist Southern belle mother attempted to reconcile Thayer to a life where society dictated every last aspect, Thayer escapes every summer to Camp Edgewood on Burnt Mountain.

On Burnt Mountain, Thayer immersed herself in the magic that was embedded in the fibers of the camp—a place where she was free to experience the magic of nature, mountain life and first love. Thayer’s summer romance with Nick Abrams burned passionately while it lasted, with promises of forever once he returned from a trip to France. However, after not receiving the much-anticipated phone calls and letter from her fiancé-to-be, Thayer plunges into a deep sadness that steals the magic away from her world and forces her to deal with the cruel realities of life.

Years later, Thayer marries and begins her dream life with a man she loves and trusts, and the magic of life is fully restored to her world. But when her husband starts a new career as a mythological storyteller at her beloved camp, it sends Thayer’s life into chaos. She discovers her husband is a man of disturbing obsessions, forcing her to face her own secrets involving her family and Nick. These revelations challenge her to take another look at the outcome of her life—and force her to decide where, or to whom, she might run.

Best-selling author Anne Rivers Siddons brings to life the traditional Old South culture in Burnt Mountain, a modern-day tale of heartbreak, love and, ultimately, self-discovery. Siddons captures readers from the start with elegant, flowing prose. We are left with the haunting reality that the true magic of life manifests itself in our adaption to its changing storms—and in who we become after weathering our own personal tragedies.

“Deer can jump fences, but antelope can’t . . . it’s a failing that almost costs them their lives,” Willy Blunt once told Judith Whitman. For Judith, it’s little tidbits like this—and other cherished memories from her past—that don’t bear their full weight until life comes full circle nearly 30 years after she left her childhood home. What—and who—Judith chose to leave behind in Rufus Sage, Nebraska, leaves her wondering if she’s missed her chance at real happiness.

Judith begins withdrawing from her meticulous California life to revisit her past in Rufus Sage. While reinventing parts of her past years, Judith travels back to a period where love and living were simpler. These times were filled discussing literature with her caring father and spending lazy afternoons at the lake with her first love, Willy. The lifelong regret Judith feels from leaving Willy when she went to college inspires her to pack up and re-experience life with him. With one phone call, she abruptly leaves her husband, her teenage daughter and her life on the West Coast to return to Rufus Sage and spend time with Willy. Little does Judith realize that bridging the gap between the past and present is always more complicated than it seems.

To Be Sung Underwater beautifully sings the story of one woman’s wrestling with the present realities of a life she created after shedding her hometown skin and abandoning the lover who knew her best. Author Tom McNeal (Goodnight, Nebraska) intricately develops the emotional ties between his characters, capturing the essence of the human heart while rejoicing in the restorative power of reconnection. The novel shows that we may not be able to bring our past with us into the present, but by looking back, we might see just where we are truly meant to be.