Description: Ten-year-old Grace is in search of a subject for her fifth-grade history project when she learns that her four times-great grandfather once stabbed his lover to death, revealing her family's violent past towards women.
Brief description: Born and raised in East Tennessee, Janet Beard studied screenwriting at NYU and went on to earn an MFA in creative writing from The New School. She is the bestselling author of The Atomic City Girls and The Ballad of Laurel Springs. She currently lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Review Quotes:
"Lyrical, atmospheric and deeply moving, Janet Beard's new novel, The Ballad of Laurel Springs, explores the legacies--of passion and violence, music and faith--that haunt one family across the generations. A gifted storyteller, Beard brings her native East Tennessee to life with grace and empathy. This book is a stunner."
-- "Jillian Medoff, author of This Could Hurt "