At the turn of the 20th century, a young Black woman named Etta Knight picks up the tradition of her late mother for creating special medicines using natural ingredients and secrets passed down from generation to generation. Her mother has passed on a book of recipes and formulas, but it’s also full of strange symbols and dark musings that she doesn’t quite understand. Within her community, one of the problems she hopes to fix is counteracting the poisonous and abrasive solutions women of color are sold for straightening her hair.

So, when the Meridian Fellowship reaches out and offers her a spot at their institute in Savannah, GA, to use their facilities to do her research, Etta jumps at the chance. She packs up her mother’s book and heads to the school, but what she finds there is a secret society and a campus surrounded by natural wonders that may point the way to understanding the more mysterious parts of her mother’s work…if dark forces don’t claim her first.

It’s the last summer before Sara’s family moves and she has to start over at a new school. The last summer before everything changes. But instead of spending it with the friends she’ll be leaving behind, Sara is sent to stay with her aunts on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, miles and miles away from any other kids.

At least it’s a magical island.

The moment Sara steps foot on its shores, she begins to discover the small magics that make life there an endlessly surprising adventure. From talking animals to trees with minds of their own, this island is full of impossible, incredible things. And with her aunts’ two dogs as her eager (and very chatty) guides, Sara is ready to discover them all.