The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer

At first glance, this is the story of Grace, who is sent to live with the Grandma she has never met after her mother dies.  This book is much deeper than that.  

The book starts with loss.  Both Grace and her Grandma are dealing with some pretty heavy losses.

Grace never met her father, her father’s parents, or her grandfather because they all died in  accidents before she was born.  She and her mother moved around frequently, often packing quickly and only what would fit in their car. Then her mother accidentally drowns.  Only twelve years old, she has to leave Mrs. Greene and her daughter, Lacey, with whom she thought she and Mama had found a home, to live with Grandma.   

Grandma is dealing with the deaths of her husband and daughter.  Now she has to raise the granddaughter she never met.  

At first, Grace is sad and angry.  She is mean and deceitful and she misbehaves in an effort to be sent back to live with Mrs. Greene and Lacey.  During a visit with Mrs. Greene convinces Grace to give Grandma a chance.

Grace and Grandma slowly develop a relationship with each other; Grace by moving from the shed into the house, and Grandma by answering all of the letters Grace wrote her over the years (even the angry ones) and knitting her a scarf.  Grace forges a friendship with Jo and learns about her mother from people in town.  Her mother becomes a magical, mystical presence in the story, gently guiding Grace through this transition in her life.

At it’s heart, this book is about life.  It’s about losing pieces of yourself and finding a way to put yourself back together.  It’s about creating a family and a place for yourself where you thought there wasn't one.  It’s about trusting yourself.  It’s about letting people be who they are and loving them for it.   It’s about paying attention to the magical signs all around you.  Most importantly, it’s about learning from the past, living in the present, and preparing for the future.  

Grace remembers that Mama said, “thinking can steal the magic right out of a thing.”  I hope, in this instance, this quote is not true.  I will be thinking about this book for quite a while, but I don’t want the magic of it to fade.  

This book is like a secret hum in my head.  I hope you will read it and hear the humming.