Melanie Neilan
High school athlete Cyd Loughlin lives alone with her depressive father in South Carolina, perpetually longing to get away from it all. When her aunt, famous novelist Miranda Ruth, agrees to host her for a few weeks during the summer, Cyd jumps at the opportunity. While there, she falls for a girl in the neighborhood, even as she and her aunt gently challenge each other in the realms of sex and spirit.
Henry Gamble's Birthday Party takes place over 24 hours at the birthday pool party of 17-year-old preacher's kid Henry Gamble. The party guests include adults and teenagers from his church, as well as Henry's "secular" friends, including the closeted young Logan, who has eyes for Henry.
The Book of Leah is a coming of age story, a drama about love, culture, and above all a witness to history.
16-year-old Zoe enlists the help of her two grandmothers, one Russian and the other Turkish, for a school cooking project. As the grandmother's rivalry escalates, Zoe wishes she hadn't bothered to ask them in the first place. The need for culturally identity clashes with the kneading of dough, and Zoe soon realizes how important both of her grandmothers are to her - and that sometimes the way into people's hearts is through their stomachs.
