A constellation of roses

Magical realism and powerful women become a calling card for Asebedo (The Deepest Roots, 2018) with her sophomore novel, which follows a teen, Trix McCabe, with an uncanny knack for thievery. After she's busted for living alone as a minor, Trix moves to middle-of-nowhere Rocksaw, Kansas, to live with the father she's never met and a family she never knew she had. Trix meets her Aunt Mia, the town matchmaker, who bakes healing pies; her no-nonsense great-aunt, who reads palms; and her cousin Ember, whose power to learn secrets with her hands keeps her distant. Despite the kindness shown to her, Trix has never been one to stay put, even before her mother abandoned her a year prior. Asebedo unravels a beautiful tale of secrets and shame as Trix's story gradually unfolds. The McCabe women are the foundation of Trix's tale, but the side characters are equally rich. A compelling exploration of what makes a family, how the past defines us, and the struggle to change.

A teenager finds love and family after a tough start in life. Seventeen-year-old Trixie McCabe is a school dropout and a drifter living on her own since her drug-addicted mother walked out on her. Trix uses her gift for going unnoticed to steal whatever she needs to support herself. When she is caught by social services, she is given the choice to either go to jail or live with her late father's family in the small town of Rocksaw, Kansas. After she chooses the latter option, Trix discovers that possessing a gift marks her as a true McCabe woman: Her aunt, Mia, can bake magical pies while her cousin, Ember, can tell a person's deepest secret through touch. But even though she is welcomed with open arms, staying put goes against Trix's instincts and everything she has ever known. A stand-alone companion to Asebedo's debut, The Deepest Roots (2018), the novel follows Trix's journey as she makes choices that will define her, with an arc that explores trauma, loneliness, and acceptance. If some of the plot points are paint-by-numbers, this is offset by the genuinely touching and supportive relationship between the McCabe women. The magical abilities of the McCabes are an open secret in Rocksaw, accepted at face value. Trix is coded as white, and some secondary characters are people of color, including Trix's Latinx romantic interest, Jasper Ruiz. Whimsical and heartwarming. (Magical realism. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.