Longlisted for The Center for Fiction 2026 First Novel Prize "Verrone has an alchemical ability to take parts of the old and the new and transform them into something entirely his own, making the book's existence a revolution unto itself . . . Its vital messages--such as how a community is only as strong as its stories--are present for all who have the vision to see them. However, its power doesn't lie in its didacticism, but rather its screaming relevancy to the present state of American affairs." --
The New York Times Book Review A mesmerizing, fable-like debut novel about a mysterious young Black woman whose arrival in an insular neighborhood threatens to shake its foundations
When Baby appears in Original Hill, her name is on everyone's lips. A young Black woman is a rare sight in this part of town, and she sits all day on the Foxes' garden wall, swinging her bare feet and speaking to no one. That is, until the charismatic Lucius "Lucky" Foote comes along and touches her, sparking their romance. Arm-in-arm with Baby, who seems to exert a seemingly supernatural pull on the other residents, Lucky is confident he will secure the open city council seat away from Baby's uncle Eugene Fox, the back-from-retirement white incumbent.
With protestors reopening old wounds around the Black neighborhood that was leveled by the nearby highway decades ago and Lucky threatening his position, Fox believes it's not just a city council seat at stake, but the "soul" of Original Hill.
As Baby is woven further into the unraveling community, she begins to stray from Fox's strict rules and question everything, from where she came from to who--and what--she truly is.
