Where the Watermelons Grow
Where the Watermelons Grow by Cindy Baldwin is a debut middle grade novel published by HarperCollins on July 3, 2018. This 256-page book explores the challenges faced by twelve-year-old Della Kelly as she navigates her mother’s mental illness. When Della discovers her mother digging black seeds from a watermelon at night and conversing with imaginary people, she fears that her mother’s condition is worsening, reminiscent of a previous hospitalization.
Readers will find a poignant narrative that delves into family dynamics and the impact of mental health on relationships. As Della grapples with her mother’s denial and her father’s struggle to maintain their farm, she believes that a jar of the Bee Lady’s magic honey can heal her mother. However, the story reveals that true healing may require Della to confront her own emotions and learn to accept her mother as she is. This book touches on themes of family, social issues, and the complexities of love in the face of adversity.
Official synopsis Publisher
Fans of The Thing About Jellyfish and A Snicker of Magic will be swept away by Cindy Baldwin’s debut middle grade about a girl coming to terms with her mother’s mental illness.
When twelve-year-old Della Kelly finds her mother furiously digging black seeds from a watermelon in the middle of the night and talking to people who aren’t there, Della worries that it’s happening again—that the sickness that put her mama in the hospital four years ago is back. That her mama is going to be hospitalized for months like she was last time.
With her daddy struggling to save the farm and her mama in denial about what’s happening, it’s up to Della to heal her mama for good. And she knows just how she’ll do it: with a jar of the Bee Lady’s magic honey, which has mended the wounds and woes of Maryville, North Carolina, for generations.
But when the Bee Lady says that the solution might have less to do with fixing Mama’s brain and more to do with healing her own heart, Della must learn that love means accepting her mama just as she is.
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