On May 1, one of the loveliest books I’ve read in a while hit the shelves: The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer.

Twelve-year-old Grace and her mother have always been their own family, traveling from place to place like gypsies. But Grace wants to finally have a home all their own. Just when she thinks she’s found it her mother says it’s time to move again. Grace summons the courage to tell her mother how she really feels and will always regret that her last words to her were angry ones.

After her mother’s sudden death, Grace is forced to live with a grandmother she’s never met. She can’t imagine her mother would want her to stay with this stranger. Then Grace finds clues in a mysterious treasure hunt, just like the ones her mother used to send her on. Maybe itis her mother, showing her the way to her true home.

I’d been wanting to read it ever since Tracy and I were co-entrants in the 2011 Baker’s Dozen Agent Auction at Miss Snark’s First Victim. We both signed with agents shortly after the auction, and both ended up selling our books to Putnam shortly after that. (I know, what are the odds?)

The lucky thing about having the same publisher is that I was able to snag an advance copy of Secret Hum (which I’m giving away–find out how to enter below!), and it was just as incredible as I had hoped. But you don’t need to take my word for it: check out this starred review from Publishers Weekly! (It also has a star from School Library Journal, and a rave review from Kirkus.)

In addition to its beautiful writing and meditation on loss, this book has a fantastic collection of quirky characters and some very nice moments of humor, too. Here are a few of my favorite funny lines.

As they prattled on about manure and weather and other boring nonsense, I tried to think.

Fifteen minutes later, Grandma showed up with my duffel, wearing her usual prune face and lumberjack costume.

“He likes her because of her bra size…And is she decent enough to be insulted? Nope. She goes around smoothing her shirt and posing this way and that like she has something to be proud of. Plus she eats meat.”

Intrigued? Here’s where you can purchase a copy of The Secret Hum of a Daisy.
Once Upon A Time | Amazon | B&N
{For an autographed copy, order through Once Upon A Time, and don’t forget to mention in the purchase comments that you’d like it signed}

You can also enter to win my advance copy of The Secret Hum of a Daisy by leaving a comment on this blog post. Cranes play an important role in this book, so if you have a favorite bird, please share what it is and why you like it.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Tracy also has an official blog tour going, where you can learn more about this wonderful book and enter to win a Secret Hum “bag of treasure,” including a $20 Amazon gift card. Here are the stops!
May 6: Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire
May 7: Leandra Wallace
May 8: Heidi Schultz
May 9: AuthorOf
May 10: Read Now, Sleep Later
May 11: Kidlit Frenzy
May 12: Literary Rambles
May 14: Smack Dab in the Middle

Find Tracy online here:
Website  | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Smack Dab in the Middle

Good luck in the giveaways! I’ll announce a winner for the advance copy next Thursday, 5/15.