Always in trouble, Katie McCabe is a rebellious and spirited thirteen-year-old who loves her father, a sheriff, and a single parent. But her life is turned upside down when he sends her hundreds of miles away to live with his brother on a farm. Katie protests that she’ll be good, but her dad has decided she must go. He’s sick and going into the hospital for tests and needs his family to watch over her.
Arms folded and angry, Katie refuses to even look at him as the bus pulls out of the station. Something she later regrets. Angry, betrayed, and abandoned, she vows to cause trouble, determined to make her uncle and cousins sorry that they’ve taken her in.
A lonely Katie begins her campaign, hoping to get sent back to her father, and makes trouble at school, but her new family isn’t folding.
Meeting Denton, the town bully and son of the local bank owner, who controls the town, she challenges him when he bad-mouths her family. The conflict escalates from there. Some might back down, but not Katie McCabe.
Then she receives the devastating news that her father passed away and grief and guilt overwhelm her. How do you find happiness when you’ve lost all you’ve ever known?
Then blindfolded and taken into the distant hills, Katie must face the harrowing ordeal of being dumped in the wilderness amid a storm. To return to the only family she has, she must defend herself from predatory creatures and survive for days on her own.
To find out what happens, check out Rain Falling on Embers (Katie McCabe #1) coming Oct 3, 2023, from Vesuvian Books. I’m looking forward to the second installment in the series, South of Happy, due out in 2024.
This realistic, heartfelt drama is something many readers will relate to. Liana portrays Katie McCabe with authenticity and integrity. Recommended for readers 10+ as well as adults who enjoy nostalgic stories.
Liana Gardner is a Bram Stoker Awards® Nominee and multi-award-winning author of Speak No Evil, 7th Grade Revolution, The Journal of Angela Ashby, and the Katie McCabe Series. The daughter of a rocket scientist and an artist, Liana combines the traits of both into a quirky yet pragmatic writer and in everything sees the story lurking beneath the surface. Engaged in a battle against leukemia and lymphoma, Liana spends much of her time at home, but her imagination takes her wherever she wants to go. Most recently, she was titled Lady of Lochaber and Glencoe and was honored with a star named after her in the Andromeda Constellation. Liana is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
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