Flood — Melissa Scholes Young

A contemporary debut novel about living in the shadow of Mark Twain's legacy, in his hometown of Hannibal, Missouri.

Growing up, Laura Brooks felt stifled by her hometown of Hannibal, MO--a place ruled by its past, its hokey devotion to everything Twain, the small-mindedness of its inhabitants, and the rich/poor divide that runs as deep as the Mississippi River. What drove her away, though, was the complicated demise of her love affair with Sammy, that fateful 4th of July when the levees broke.

Laura hasn't kept much in touch with Hannibal in the ten years since she fled, and her family doesn't know what to make of her turning up unannounced. While she claims she's just home for a brief trip to take in Hannibal's high school reunion, she's carrying way too much luggage for that: literal and metaphorical. Soon Laura is embroiled in small-town goings-on and when Sammy reappears on the scene, a deeper wound threatens to reopen. As the Mississippi rises once again, Laura wonders if running away might be the only answer.