Nancy Gentry

The Secret and the Sunday Rose Nancy Gentry

Nine-year-old Jodie loves baseball more than anything. But in 1951 baseball is exclusively a boys' game, and, even though Jodie is a far better player than most boys her age, she is not allowed to join the team. Jodie's life is filled with even more frustrations and disappointments as she tries to untangle all of her family's old secrets. Every Sunday Mama delivers two roses: one to Daddy's grave and the other to a secret place. "You'll understand when you're older," Mama says. But Jodie wants to know now. All Jodie can do is help Mama make ends meet and hope that, one day soon, she will understand these mysteries. Not until Jodie's world is turned upside-down does she learn the secrets of her family. Reading Mama's old diary, Jodie discovers a past filled with wealth, grief, and jealousy. She is more confused than ever. Was Mama right? Is Jodie too young to understand The Secret and the Sunday Rose?