Hollybrook Valentine — Brenda Maxfield

Lily Umble secretly writes poetry. She hides her work as her father has forbidden it, labeling poetry as Englisch and useless. All goes well until her best friend asks her to write a Valentine poem for Mark Bechler, the young man she secretly likes. But Lily is smitten with Mark, too. Reluctantly, she agrees to write the poem for her friend, unwilling to confess her own love. Things shatter when Lily's father finds out what she's been doing. He destroys her poetry, but somehow the Valentine survives. Lily's sister intervenes, thinking she's helping, but things quickly deteriorate. When Peter Yordy comes on the scene, Lily is both in trouble and confused. Why would God give her beautiful words, if He didn't want her to enjoy them? And how can she live without expressing her deepest yearnings in poetry? And why does her heart flutter whenever Peter Yordy comes near?