Mermaids' Tears

When River Freeman gets an opportunity to live in a bargain beach home in Carmel, Caifornia, she takes it. Unfortunately, this puts her son Rusty in the position of new kid just as he's hitting sixth grade. With his advanced vocabulary and love of books, he's a primary target for twelve-year-old boys and their difference detectors. With a comic and slightly violent solution, Rusty manages to wriggle out, but just then their tenant, college student Autumn, suffers a terrible family tragedy that sends the household into a grief-ridden funk. It's a long road back to the good life, but it might be marked by baseballs - and the lost young man who once told Rusty he was a natural. A heartwarming coming-of-age tale from the acclaimed author of Lavender and A Painting Called Sylvia.