Publication Date: April 2023

Synopsis:

Stifled by tragedy, thirteen-year-old Grace Mockingbird yearns to escape her mother’s controlling, grieving hand and find her voice in a small Kentucky coal mining town. A tragic family loss has driven a wedge between Grace and her mother, who seems to be silently punishing Grace by withholding her love. Grace does penance in every chore while doubting she’ll ever earn her mother’s forgiveness.

But change arrives with the hot winds of summer as the frequent clashes of the civil rights movement play out not only on the Mockingbirds’ new television but also in their town, and Grace must decide what she believes amid the swirling, conflicting voices even of those she loves.

Then her younger brother and best friend, Isaac, becomes seriously ill. With the world as she’s always known it shifting around her, Grace must journey past her own fear and through pain to bring healing to those who need it as she tries to save the one person dearest to her.

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What To Expect:

The Year of Jubilee is a southern historical fiction that takes place in the 1960s, following a young teenage girl and her family issues among the backdrop of the civil rights era.

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Content Warnings:

Language: Mild – Some insults like “turd” and “whore” plus implied cursing

Sexual Content: Description of clothes that show off a young woman’s body + promiscuity, mention of having sex. Kissing between young teens.

Violence: Moderate – Racially charged burning of homes, child neglect/abuse, sexual assault on child (not described)

Substance Use: Mentions of alcohol & cigarette use

Prejudices: Heavy – Racism

Religious Themes: Frequent talk of church going, scripture, and praying. Miracles are discussed as well as both bad and positive examples of Christian ministers/laypeople.

Other Topics: Child death + stillbirth, parental abandonment & strained parental relationships

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