Esmaria

Kansas City, 1970 When eleven-year-old Esmaria Paulk moves from Atlanta with her family, she expects nothing more dramatic than starting sixth grade at Sanford B. Ladd School. But at her family's new Bible church, she witnesses an unexpected miracle: the long-lost daughter of one of the long-time congregation members returns after more than a decade – alive, troubled, and with a past that refuses to stay buried. Among the swirl of whispers and celebration stands Lamont Jackson, the grandson Mrs. Jackson has lovingly raised since his birth. Quiet, proud, and charming, Lamont quickly becomes Esmaria's first friend in her new city. A shared piece of peppermint candy seals a bond neither of them fully understands. But when Lamont's unstable mother resurfaces and, out of spite, tears him and his younger siblings away from the only home they've ever known, his world collapses. Forced into a life of neglect and hardship, Lamont runs away determined to survive the bitter Kansas City winter on his own terms. Hungry, cold, and alone, he relies on sheer ingenuity to stay alive. Esmaria cannot bear to watch her friend disappear. Guided by fierce loyalty and a wisdom far beyond her years, she sets out to find the boy everyone else has written off. With the help of her family, her pastor, and Lamont's school principal, she refuses to give up on him even as danger closes in and others try to exploit a desperate child with nowhere left to turn. Can Esmaria find Lamont before tragedy strikes? And will Lamont learn to trust the adults who want to save him before it's too late? A story of courage, compassion, and the mysterious power of charity, Esmaria reveals what can happen when one determined girl believes a lost boy still has a future worth fighting for.