Time Pieces is a quietly beautiful coming-of-age story from a master storyteller.

Eleven-year-old Valena, her family, and dog live in rural Ohio, where she and her cousin Melinda share experiences that include seeing the aurora borealis, surviving a tornado, and going to an amazing circus.

Yet Valena lives in both the present and the past as she struggles with racism in her daily life and listens to and learns from her mother’s tales of her family’s proud history. Moving backward and forward in time, these pieces of Valena’s life blend to form an extraordinary portrait of the ties that bind her family together over generations.

Drawing from her own family history, Virginia Hamilton has deftly woven together moments in time, creating a seamless and poignant masterpiece.