The Garden Just Beyond

By Lindsey Leavitt

For fourteen-year-old Magnolia Gartner, nothing is more important than tradition, and the most important traditions in her eccentric family are the magical dinner parties they've been hosting for generations. Anyone lucky enough to have dined at the Gartner’s estate in Humble Hollow will claim the meal was life-changing, and that's true -- because the crops the family harvests and the dishes they prepare have the power to alter the emotions, and fortunes, of anyone who eats them.

It's not just the food, either; for as long as anybody can remember, the whole Gartner family has been exceptional, though Maggie often feels like the exception. That’s going to change when Maggie cooks her first dinner and proves she’s just as special -- just as Gartner -- as everyone else. But when a mysterious stranger moves to town and threatens the family's century-old secrets, the Gartner family and all of Humble Hollow are at risk of losing far more than a seat at the table. With the help of new kid, Graham, as well as trusty townsfolk and family folklore, Maggie must dig deep to see what others can’t, especially buried truths that feel just beyond her reach.

Devilishly absurd and heartachingly true, The Garden Just Beyond untangles themes of heritage, identity, and legacy in a tale that twists and turns until the enchanted end.