With each revelation about a heartbreaking past he never imagined, Blue faces a choice between those he's always trusted, and an uncertain future where he must risk everything in his quest for the truth. As secrets slowly unfurl, Blue's beliefs-about Goji, the guidelines that govern their seemingly idyllic lives, and the nature of family itself-begin to shift. The passing months bring upheaval to their little clan and another member arrives, a beautiful runaway teen named Rain, sparking new tensions. For the first time, Goji's answers fail to satisfy. With the urging of his fearless and funny best friend, Harmony, Clover Blue begins to ask questions. Set against the backdrop of a commune in 1970s Northern California, Clover Blue is a compelling, beautifully written story of a young boys search for identity. But despite his loyalty to the commune and its guru-like founder Goji, Blue grapples with invisible ties toward another family-the one he doesn't remember. Sheltered within the bubble of small town life, the most scandalous thing ever was when a busload of hippies stopped off at our tiny ice cream parlor clad in flowing gauze and scanty bikinis. Here, everyone is family, regardless of their disparate backgrounds-surfer, midwife, Grateful Dead groupie, Vietnam deserter. I was a child of the seventies but had little awareness of the cultural revolution that book-ended my rural upbringing.

What he does know with certainty is that among this close-knit, nature-loving group, he is happy. There are many things twelve-year-old Clover Blue isn't sure of: his exact date of birth, his name before he was adopted into the Saffron Freedom Community, or who his first parents were. Set against the backdrop of a 1970s commune in Northern California, Clover Blue is a compelling, beautifully written story of a young boy's search for identity.

Clover Blue by Eldonna Edwards