As the Spark Flies Upward

As the Spark Flies Upward is a novel centered around four generations of a family living on the banks of a river in the Depression-era south. The story follows the lives of Grace Canton Kelley, her sister Athena, and their two best friends as they respond to the turmoil caused by an alcoholic, abusive stepfather and the poverty and dangers that surround their town. Grace, the meek, bookish second-born, grows up in the shadow of her magical, beautiful, yet dangerous elder sister;her timidity...