{"product_id":"small-mercies-9781946395160","title":"Small Mercies","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA 2022 Skipping Stones Honor Awardee\u003cbr\u003eNamed a Best Middle-Grade Book of 2020 by \u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2021 Outstanding International Books List, United States Board on Books for Young People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eMercy lives in modern-day Pietermaritzburg, South Africa with her eccentric foster aunts--two elderly sisters so poor, they can only afford one lightbulb. A nasty housing developer is eying their house. And that same house suddenly starts falling apart--just as Aunt Flora starts falling apart. She's forgetting words, names, and even how to behave in public. Mercy tries to keep her head down at school so nobody notices her. But when a classmate frames her for stealing the school's raffle money, Mercy's teachers decide to take a closer look at her home life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlong comes Mr. Singh, who rents the back cottage of the house on Hodson Road. When he takes Mercy to visit a statue in the middle of the city, she learns that the shy, nervous \"Mohandas\" he tells stories about is actually Gandhi, who spent a cold and lonely night in the waiting room of the Pietermaritzburg train station over a hundred years ago. It marked the beginning of his life's quest for truth...and the visit to his statue marks Mercy's realization that she needs--just like Gandhi--to stand up for herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eMercy needs a miracle. But to summon that miracle, she has to find her voice and tell the truth--and that truth is neither pure nor simple.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKrone, Bridget:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eBridget Krone lives and works in a village called Hilton just outside Pietermaritzburg, in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa. Her office looks onto a field where cows graze in the winter and cranes (both crowned and blue) visit in the summer. She has spent most of her working life writing short novels and English language text books for school children in South Africa. Her favorite stories are those that, just when you expect a lesson, sing a song instead.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVermeulen, Karen:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eKaren Vermeulen is an illustrator, designer, art director, and writer living in Cape Town, South Africa. She has designed the majority of Catalyst Press's book covers. She works from a corner of her small flat, her desk facing Table Mountain. She loves humor, stories, patterns and color. Her cat (Sir Henry) loves walking over Her keyboard and lying on top of her drawings while she tries to work.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalyst Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50681742459154,"sku":"9781946395160","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_32ed7ff5-efaf-4acd-b4e2-4c9e8acb0e50.jpg?v=1767093744","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/small-mercies-9781946395160","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}