Skylark

Written by: Patrician MacLachlan

First line: Papa married Sarah on a summer day.

Why you should read this book: Short and sweet like its predecessor, Sarah, Plain and Tall, this book picks up shortly after the first leaves off. Caleb and Anna adore their new mother, but still live in fear that one day she will abandon the grain-fields of their midwestern homestead and return to the blue-green waters of the Maine coast, from whence she came. When drought threatens their livelihood, they find themselves instead, shipped off to Maine with Sarah, but without their papa, who stays behind to salvage what's left of their farm.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've ever been abandoned.