by Loriel Ryon
“The bridge!” Hasik pointed. “There was a bridge not too far from here where we can cross.”
As they made their way along the river toward the bridge, Yolanda hung back with Hasik. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hasik smile. He reached out a hand and found hers. She squeezed it back, a comforting warmth coming over her.
They crossed the rickety bridge one at a time as the water rushed below their feet. When she reached the other side, Hasik was waiting with an orange flower. He tucked it behind her ear.
“Mexican flame vine,” he whispered.
Yolanda grinned.
* * *
On the other side of the river, the tall, tall grass was gone. In its place were young, flimsy trees, a few meters apart, with tiny white blossoms adorning the branches. They dotted the landscape all the way toward home.
Hasik stepped closer, plucked a leaf, and twirled it between his fingers. “Pecan trees,” he said. “Saplings.”
The heaviness in Yolanda’s chest lifted for a moment. and she smiled. A pecan orchard had emerged.
Wela was right. She was right about so many things.
Yolanda walked between the trees, a sense of peace settling inside her, and played Wela’s words in her mind. She gazed around at the young orchard, brought back to life for the next generation.
Everything had been set right.
The heat pulsed overhead as they made their way through the young orchard toward home. Although the trip back was much faster without the grass and the wheelbarrow slowing their journey, Hasik and Yolanda were slow and cautious on their injured legs. Hand in hand they walked together, neither of them saying much at all, the silence comforting and reassuring.
Hours later, as the sun was setting on the horizon and the great white house with the wraparound porch came into view, Yolanda noticed the red-and-white flag in the window was missing.
“Dad!” Yolanda yelled.
Sonja glanced back and smiled.
They broke into a run.
Acknowledgments
Writing a book is hard. So many people were vital in making this happen and I’d like to thank them.
First I’d like to thank my agent, Kristy Hunter. Without your enthusiasm and passion, I don’t know where I would be. You are an eternal optimist and the perfect counterpoint to my tendency to be a bit of a cynic. You took a chance on me, and I am forever grateful for your support and kindness. I am so lucky to have you on my team, as well as everyone at the Knight Agency.
To my friends, early readers, consultants, and people who made this book better along the way: thank you so much for your support and insights. Sam Figiel, Paula Bowker, Sahar Davis, Marián Giráldez Elizo, and Georgina Kamsika. Tricia Seabolt, my supportive and wonderful critique partner. Thank you for your invaluable insights—they truly helped get this project off the ground.
Thank you to my sister, Erin Weddington, whose input on everything, but specifically the Spanish, was vital. Any mistakes are my own, but without your help, I’d probably be on Google Translate making a lot more of them.
To my editor, Karen Wojtyla: thank you for helping me shape this book into what it looked like in my head. You have such a talent for raising questions and pointing out issues while letting me do the problem-solving on my own. Your feedback and passion for this project is felt. Thank you for taking a chance on me. I finally feel this book is at the place where I wanted it to be when I started.
Thank you to everyone at Margaret K. McElderry Books who believed in and helped shape and promote this book—Justin Chanda, Bridget Madsen, Elizabeth Blake-Linn, Penina Lopez, Tom Finnegan, and Audrey Gibbons. You all have done an outstanding job. Nicole Fiorica, thank you for all of your work on this project, constantly keeping me in the loop and sending me the best mail!
Victo Ngai, thank you for your absolutely stunning artwork for the cover. When I heard they picked you, I knew this book would be in excellent hands. Debra Sfetsios-Conover, it is obvious that the cover was designed with such a meticulous and thoughtful eye, from the spine to the tiny details on the back. You did an outstanding job. It takes my breath away every time I see it.
Bill Fogleman, who always had fierce belief in me, no matter what I wanted to do: it breaks my heart that you never got a chance to read this book, because I know you would have been so proud of it—and me. You have impacted me in so many wonderful and positive ways that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Thank you. We miss you so much.
Thank you to all of my family near and far, the Weddingtons, the Figiels, the Acevedos. Every step of the way, I’ve felt supported and cheered on during this crazy publishing journey.
Thank you to my parents, Mom and Pa, for giving me the foundation and support to even think this crazy idea of writing a book was possible. And thank you for not getting too annoyed at me for reading thousands of books during dinner while ignoring the rest of the family.
Thank you to my daughters. It was the journey of motherhood that made me realize that I wanted to write, for real. It made me realize that if I could take care of two tiny humans, I might actually be able to start this writing thing. And thank you for napping so I had time to write.
And finally, thank you to my husband, Greg. Your constant support and love means everything to me. I’m so thankful that we found each other and have made this wonderful life together. I don’t know how I got so lucky.
About the Author
Loriel Ryon spent her childhood with her nose in a book, reading in restaurants, on the school bus, and during every family vacation. When she wasn’t reading, Loriel built volcanoes, made jewelry, rescued tadpoles with her siblings, and raised butterflies. Now a nurse and an author of middle-grade and young adult fiction, she lives in the beautiful New Mexico desert with her husband and two daughters.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Loriel-Ryon
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Simon & Schuster, New York
MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2020 by Loriel Figiel
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2020 by Victo Ngai
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Jacket design by Debra Sfetsios-Conover
Interior design by Irene Metaxatos
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ryon, Loriel, author.
Title: Into the tall, tall grass / Loriel Ryon.
Description: First edition. | New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, [2020] | Audience: Ages 10 up. | Audience: Grades 7–9. | Summary: Yolanda sets out with family and friends to help her grandmother and discovers long-buried secrets about a family curse and the healing power of the magic surrounding her.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019032230 (print) | ISBN 9781534449671 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534449695 (eBook)
Subjects: CYAC: Magic—Fiction. | Ability—Fiction. | Secrets—Fiction. | Sisters—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Grandmothers—Fiction.
Classification:
LCC PZ7.1.R98 Int 2020 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032230