Under the Magnolias - T. I. Lowe

2022 Christy Award finalist!This night not only marked the end to the drought, but also the end to the long-held secret we’d kept hidden under the magnolias.Magnolia, South Carolina, 1980Austin Foster is barely a teenager when her mama dies giving birth to twins, leaving her to pick up the pieces while holding her six siblings together and doing her best to stop her daddy from retreating into his personal darkness.Scratching out a living on the family’s tobacco farm is as tough as it gets. When a few random acts of kindness help to ease the Fosters’ hardships, Austin finds herself relying upon some of Magnolia’s most colorful citizens for friendship and more. But it’s next to impossible to hide the truth about the goings-on at Nolia Farms, and Austin’s desperate attempts to save face all but break her.Just when it seems she might have something more waiting for her―with the son of a wealthy local family who she’s crushed on for years―her father makes a choice that will crack wide-open the family’s secrets and lead to a public reckoning. There are consequences for loving a boy like Vance Cumberland, but there is also freedom in the truth.Weaving together themes of hope, grief, mental health, and faith into a beautiful and moving novel, Under the Magnolias features:Clean Christian romanceA resilient Southern heroineDiscussion questions for book clubsA playlist inspired by the bookT. I. Lowe’s gritty yet tender and uplifting coming-of-age tale reminds us that a great story can break your heart . . . then heal it in the best possible way.