Tree By Leaf

It's not fair that Clothilde's father has returned from World War I so disfigured that he retreats to the boathouse as a recluse. It's not fair that her brother has abandoned the family to live with his rich grandfather in Boston. It's not fair that her mother has reverted to the role of a lady, leaving Clothilde to do all the housework. And it's certainly not fair that the Maine peninsula that Clothilde inherited from a great-aunt may have to be sold to support the family. Then a mysterious Voice speaks to Clothilde, giving her the chance to change the life fate has dealt her and the people she loves. But Clothilde's wishes come true in unexpected, frightening ways -- and at a price she isn't sure she has the courage to pay. A father's return home following World War I creates problems for his family, especially for twelve-year-old Clothilde, who struggles to accept his horrible disfigurement and opposes her mother's plan to sell Clothilde's land, a peninsula off the coast of Maine, to help pay the family's expenses. A father's return home following World War I creates problems for his family, especially for twelve year old Clothilde who struggles to accept his horrible disfigurement and opposes her mother's plan to sell Clothide's land a peninsula off the coast of Maine, to help pay the family's expenses When her father returns home from World War I and demands that the family sell their land in Maine, Clothilde hears a voice that gives her guidance that will save the land but forever change the course of her family's life. Reprint. Silence. Except for her footsteps, except for the soft thunk of mussels dropped onto the rocks by gulls, except for the wind that moved murmuring through the distant trees above her, there was silence.