Broken Flower
She was too grown-up for childish games. But too young to become a woman....
Living with her parents and brother in her Grandmother Emma's enormous mansion, Jordan March tries to be a good girl and follow her grandmother's strict rules. But one day, without warning, Jordan's body begins to change -- and everyone notices her in a way that seems dark, dangerous, and threatening. Suddenly the March family secrets are unleashed, and Jordan is ashamed and afraid that her soft curves are unwelcome indeed. Now Grandmother Emma sets out to make Jordan pay for her family's past mistakes, sending her world spinning wildly out of control...
Forbidden Touch
"I know you're not telling me everything, Jordan. I know you're frightened, but you must never, never let him touch your body like that again. Do you understand? Do you?"
"Yes, Grandmother"
"I should have suspected something like this. A boy that age having no friends, not going to any parties, not belonging to any teams, spending all that time alone doing who knows what with himself. I should have known. I did know. In my heart, I knew but refused to admit it to myself. I do bury my head in the sand too much sometimes, but I won't anymore. I promise you that," she said, nodding with clear and firm determination in her eyes.
She started for the door and then turned and looked back at me. "Disgusting. Horrible. A disgrace piled on a disgrace," she muttered, and then switched off my lights, closing the door behind her.
I lay there in the darkness, my heart still pounding....
Scattered Leaves
She was supposed to be hidden away. But when the truth is exposed, she can't stay silent....
After tragedy tears her family apart, Jordan March is shipped off by her domineering Grandmother Emma to live with Emma's long-forgotten sister. Shuttered in a rundown farmhouse, Aunt Frances is the strangest person Jordan has ever met. Why has Grandmother hidden away this fragile, harmless woman--did Frances grow up much too fast, like Jordan did? In the shadows of the farmhouse, Jordan is about to unearth the shattering truth--and the March family will never be the same....
New Girl
I sat and lowered my head to begin the writing assignment. We all looked up again when we heard a knock on the classroom door. It opened and a girl who looked at least sixteen stepped in.
"Yes, what is it?" Mrs. Morgan asked, not hiding her irritation.
"The principal would like to see Jordan March," she announced.
Mrs. Morgan tightened the corners of her mouth and then looked at me.
"Go ahead," she said, her voice full of annoyance. "You can leave your things right here. Don't dawdle in the hallway when you return either. Get right back to do your work."
I rose and joined the girl at the door. As soon as she closed it behind us, she turned to me and smiled.
"This is your first day here, right?"
"Yes," I said. "Is that why the principal sent for me?"
"No," she said, widening her smile. "Boy, are you in trouble," she said.
She was too grown-up for childish games. But too young to become a woman....
Living with her parents and brother in her Grandmother Emma's enormous mansion, Jordan March tries to be a good girl and follow her grandmother's strict rules. But one day, without warning, Jordan's body begins to change -- and everyone notices her in a way that seems dark, dangerous, and threatening. Suddenly the March family secrets are unleashed, and Jordan is ashamed and afraid that her soft curves are unwelcome indeed. Now Grandmother Emma sets out to make Jordan pay for her family's past mistakes, sending her world spinning wildly out of control...
Forbidden Touch
"I know you're not telling me everything, Jordan. I know you're frightened, but you must never, never let him touch your body like that again. Do you understand? Do you?"
"Yes, Grandmother"
"I should have suspected something like this. A boy that age having no friends, not going to any parties, not belonging to any teams, spending all that time alone doing who knows what with himself. I should have known. I did know. In my heart, I knew but refused to admit it to myself. I do bury my head in the sand too much sometimes, but I won't anymore. I promise you that," she said, nodding with clear and firm determination in her eyes.
She started for the door and then turned and looked back at me. "Disgusting. Horrible. A disgrace piled on a disgrace," she muttered, and then switched off my lights, closing the door behind her.
I lay there in the darkness, my heart still pounding....
Scattered Leaves
She was supposed to be hidden away. But when the truth is exposed, she can't stay silent....
After tragedy tears her family apart, Jordan March is shipped off by her domineering Grandmother Emma to live with Emma's long-forgotten sister. Shuttered in a rundown farmhouse, Aunt Frances is the strangest person Jordan has ever met. Why has Grandmother hidden away this fragile, harmless woman--did Frances grow up much too fast, like Jordan did? In the shadows of the farmhouse, Jordan is about to unearth the shattering truth--and the March family will never be the same....
New Girl
I sat and lowered my head to begin the writing assignment. We all looked up again when we heard a knock on the classroom door. It opened and a girl who looked at least sixteen stepped in.
"Yes, what is it?" Mrs. Morgan asked, not hiding her irritation.
"The principal would like to see Jordan March," she announced.
Mrs. Morgan tightened the corners of her mouth and then looked at me.
"Go ahead," she said, her voice full of annoyance. "You can leave your things right here. Don't dawdle in the hallway when you return either. Get right back to do your work."
I rose and joined the girl at the door. As soon as she closed it behind us, she turned to me and smiled.
"This is your first day here, right?"
"Yes," I said. "Is that why the principal sent for me?"
"No," she said, widening her smile. "Boy, are you in trouble," she said.