Bad Girl Creek

Phoebe Thomas truly loves the flower farm willed to her by her favorite Aunt Sadie, who raised her and loved her as a daughter. James, Phoebe's brilliant entrepreneur brother, wants to develop the land and sell building lots. Phoebe want the flower farm returned to its former success. But she will need help.

Phoebe advertises for roommates to assist her with the physical labors of running a farm. Armed only with Sadie's gardening journal and the expertise of Florencio, the only employee that remained, she enlists the aid of three women. They form a cooperative partnership and give the handicapped Phoebe more joy than her wildest imagination will allow her to dream up.

The tall, beautiful Black girl, Ness, brings a dark secret, one that will cause her tears; and she brings baggage in the form of Leroy, her favorite horse, who slips into a stall in Phoebe's barn as if he'd always belonged. Nance Mattox is a southern belle who is hurt from a broken love affair with a journalist who has always disappointed her. She comes to the farm with Duchess, her golden retriever. Beryl Anne's history includes time spent in Chowchilla prison for unintentionally stabbing her abusive husband to death, and she brings with her Verde, a parrot whose claim to fame is his constant string of cuss words. The animals lend unique character to the story; the sense of family would be incomplete without them.

Sadie's memory remains with Phoebe within the pages of the journal. Her instructions for planting and nurturing the flowers begins another type of growth: a human kind when the girls become best friends. Tragedy, humor, tears, and laughter all round out the emotions in Mapson's book. She cleverly blends a picture of individual hearts together into a work of art in unity and love. Her story is one of hope, growth, longing, resolution, and thanksgiving. BAD GIRL CREEK, however is not all bad , as new and former male relationships add to the women's lives with a richness that was unrealized until now.

The author has woven a story of broken relationships into a beautiful story of friendship. A diverse assortment of characters makes BAD GIRL CREEK a must-read. Each of the women brings a unique tale to the household and, eventually, each lends the others strength from deep within herself.

The narrative is presented in a first person, a present tense style as each character is developed. The technique

...