Lovely
by Autumn J. Bright

One girl’s complicated journey to adulthood.

They say bad things happen to good people, but that old cliché doesn’t bring much comfort to Lovely Duval. In a time of fading innocence, at a young age, Lovely takes on a life of responsibility after a tragic accident strikes home. And although performing household duties and helping out with a terminally ill parent on a daily basis is sometimes hard work for the preteen, she embraces it all with a positive attitude simply out of sheer love and devotion.

But when a nomadic family member returns to small-town Willisburg, South Carolina, her challenges escalate—cutting her childhood short and propelling her down a path of binge eating and self-destruction. Now a young woman, Lovely has to make a decision. Will she succumb to the demons of her past? Or will she fight for change and allow love to heal her heart?

Reviews: “Tender and bighearted, Lovely is a real and relatable heroine who charts her own course in a courageous coming-of-age novel that will appeal to fans of Chris Cleave, Sapphire, and Sarah Dessen.” — Booklist

“It’s unusual to find a coming-of-age story that moves beyond the early teen years to follow the protagonist into new adulthood, but this is just one of the strengths in Lovely…” —D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review