Under the Mulberry Tree

A moving middle grade novel in verse about a “broken” family and the tender bond between the two brothers putting its pieces back together.

Eli promised his little brother Sam that they’d always stay together. . . but it was a promise he couldn’t keep.  

Now, because of their mother’s addiction, their family unit has been broken. Meemaw is dead, Mama is gone, and Sam must live in foster care while Eli stays with their grandfather. Their family isn’t a family anymore. Or at least not like it used to be.

Eli is angry—angry and sad and full of guilt. He broke a promise to his brother and there’s no going back to fix it. What do you do after the worst thing in the world happens to you? he wonders. As Eli tries to mend his relationship with Sam and process his own emotions, mandated therapy feels like just one more thing he can’t control—until he finds an unexpected path toward healing. 

Intimate and heartfelt, this novel in verse is the hopeful story of a boy learning to embrace even his most difficult feelings.