Excerpt from The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"There's plenty of alcohol in Ballard," I said. "Plenty of women. And more bad ideas than I can count on both hands and feet."

"But she knows the community here. She knows if one of her kids is up to no good, she'll hear about it. She feels safe in our little corner of the world. If Pa doesn't come home, she knows he's one of three places. If one of us gets hurt, she knows she can walk us over to Doc Truman. If someone doesn't come home when they're supposed to, she knows all the places to go looking." He looked over at me with a sad smile. "She wasn't always this way. So skittish. So housebound and eagle-eyed. Do you remember? Before Pa got hurt?"

"Yeah," I said. "I remember."

She'd been funny, her wit one of the best things about her. She could always get a smile out of someone, no matter how hard they tried not to be amused. And she was smart. Like most women her age, she'd hadn't finished school, leaving in the eighth grade, but she was rarely seen without a book in hand in those days. Now all her books had been spirited away to Hannah's corner of our shared room, and in their place were piles of clothes needing to be mended.

"Daddy's accident made her different," I said.

"No," Tommy corrected. "The accident made her tough. The drinking made her how she is now. Ashamed."

"I hate him for what he's done to the two of you."

"Me too. But I hate him more for what he's done to you."

"How do you mean?"

"Come on, Z. I know you'd like to go out on dates. To even be asked. You're a looker. I can't count how many times I've had to clock one of my friends on the ear for noticing. And I know you'd love to use that talent of yours to make the kind of life you deserve to have. You should be living downtown in a nice apartment, making fancy clothes for fancy people in a fancy shop. Not here, still sharing a bed with your sister in a house with no indoor plumbing on a street most people avoid."

My face went hot and I ducked my head.

"It's fine," I whispered.

"It's not. It's unfair that because of Father, people steer clear of us. No one wants their kid to be friends with the child of the town drunk—or their son or daughter to date her or him. You're young and smart, talented and beautiful. You deserve to get asked out. To have opportunities to dress up and experience more of life."

"And you don't?" I asked. "You belong in college. Not chopping down trees."

"It's not forever," he said. But by the tone of his voice, I could tell even he wasn't so sure about that.

"I really miss having you around all the time," I said, nudging him with my elbow.

"I miss bein' around." He nudged me back. "Maybe next weekend I'll try to get back earlier and we can take everyone to the beach."

"They'd like that," I said.

"Me too." He grinned, looking like he had when he was a little boy. "So, you goin' over to Rose's tonight?"

I pursed my lips and glanced toward the house. His eyes widened and he leaned in.

"Tell me," he said.

"She's working at the club tonight," I whispered. "I'm going with."

Tommy's grin turned impish. "Good for you, Z," he whispered. "Have a little fun for me too, promise?"

"Promise."

The pickup truck that had dropped him off a few hours earlier pulled up to the front of the house.

"Welp. There's my ride." He got to his feet, pulled me to mine, and wrapped his arms around me. "Have a good time, sis. But be careful. Don't go running off with the first slick-haired boy who promises you the world."

"I wouldn't think of it," I said, hugging him back. "Be careful out there in all those trees. See you next week?"

"See you then."

He held up a finger to the driver and then hurried inside. I smiled as I heard a rush of noise, everyone taking their turn saying goodbye, and then he reappeared, ran down the front path, hopped in the bed of the truck where two other young men sat, and they were off with a wave.

* * *

"What are you and Rose doing tonight?" Sarah asked from where she lay on our bed while I placed a nightgown and clothes for the following day in a small bag.

Excerpted from The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar. Copyright © 2023 by Noelle Salazar. Excerpted by permission of Mira Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.