the series is titled Broken Flower and should be on
shelves by October 2006. Below is a synopsis.
Jordan March has a problem. At age eleven, she is
already going through the physical changes of an older
girl. Her teenaged brother Ian is fascinated with her
condition, and he not only protects her from her teasing
classmates, but also decides to make a scientific study
of her, calling it “The Sister Project.” Jordan appreciates
her brother’s attention and is relieved to share the
secret her parents insist she must keep from her
grandmother, Emma March, an influential woman in their
hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
But soon Jordan’s grandmother discovers Jordan’s
secret, as well as “The Sister Project.” Outraged, she
claims that Ian and Jordan have an incestuous
relationship and decides that Jordan must be sent away.
Before Jordan’s mother can intervene, she is killed in a
car accident, and Jordan is sent to live with her
grandmother’s sister Francis, a spinster who lives on a
rundown farm with her housekeeper, Lester Marshall,
his daughter Mae, and granddaughter Alanis. There,
Jordan develops the independence and sophistication
to match her physical maturity…and also uncovers a
long-buried family secret that has remained hidden until
now.