Well written account of a young woman growing up in a hardscrabble environment in small town Mississippi. Beautiful characterizations, especially of Maddie and her family as the struggle to survive after the her sister's illness takes the mother away from the home. Captures the invisibility that black and white communities had for each other during segregation.

This story begins & ends with the 11 year old heroine, Maddie, in a Mulberry tree. The story in between takes the reader on a heart wrenching journey as Maddie strives to keep her family together through a tragic year. The author tells a compelling story- expected to be moved.