Jewel

Bret Lott’s novel is narrated by Jewel Hilburn, a woman raising a large family in rural 1940s Mississippi, whose youngest child, Brenda Kay, is born with Down syndrome. Told she should expect little, Jewel instead devotes herself to her daughter, eventually moving the family to California in search of help. Spanning decades, the book is a portrait of fierce maternal love and the sacrifices it demands.