Judith Freeman – författare

Verna Flake is fleeing Utah, a failed marriage (her husband has left her for a former beauty queen named Pinky), and the constricted yet reliable Mormon way of life. Seemingly naive but also gifted with an almost second sight for the emotional heart of things, Verna relates her adventures on the road, in Los Angeles, and eventually in Mexico, as she confronts her future and muses over her past. Reading group guide included.

Flora and Annie are off to stay with their grandparents for the summer. The girls will travel on their own from Cape Town on the bus, and Flora is proud that their mother has put her in charge. Flora loves lots of things about staying with Ouma and Oupa: swinging on the big old tree in the garden, baking with Ouma, playing with the other children from the neighbourhood. But there's one thing she doesn’t like at all ... Nelson, their grandmother’s large, red rooster. Little Annie isn’t afraid of him, and Flora knows that she shouldn’t be either. After all, she's supposed to be the grown-up one! But Flora can’t help it – Nelson is scary and glary and he pecks hard. Will she overcome her fear?