Leaving Nelson

Bailey Baxter’s ninth grade year couldn’t get any worse. After losing her mother to cancer, Bailey’s father decides to move the family back to his hometown in Tennessee. Leaving Nelson, the only home she’s ever known, is the icing on the cake. Uprooted from the familiar, with wounds left unhealed, Bailey reluctantly spends her first few days in Fulton attempting to hide in the shadows of strangers. However, as the daughter of Fulton’s hometown hero, she catches the attention of many—foiling her plan to simply blend in. Worst of all, the biggest jerk in school has decided to make her his special project. Then Bailey runs into the cute, shy boy from her English class. His charm and lopsided grin give Bailey a reason to smile again even in the midst of her pain. Could he be the one putting poetry in her locker? As new friendships take shape, Bailey’s bitterness and resentment begin to slowly melt away. Just as her faith is restored, a secret is discovered. A painting of a young girl that dates back years before her birth now threatens to ravish her relationships with those she has grown to love. On a quest to reveal the truth, Bailey discovers that, though she had a difficult time leaving Nelson, what she finds in Fulton may just be what she has been searching for all along.