Susie Newman

Eating Yellow Paint Susie Newman

Fifteen-year-old Savannah Jorja Dale is a sensitive poet searching for happiness. Savannah and her siblings, Montana and Phoenix, all named for the places their drug-addicted mom would like to visit, are being raised by their Mimi. When Mimi dies of cancer, their lives become uprooted and more chaotic. The three teens must move in with their eccentric great grandma, Granny Crackers, and pick trash to earn their keep. Granny Crackers runs a never- ending garage sale from the back lot of her house in a Midwestern, inner city neighborhood known as Paris Village. Savannah seeks answers to the questions she has about suffering and God by finding beauty in ugly and unexpected places. She captures images of her new world and shares them on Instagram. The problems that Savannah faces are indicative of today's social landscape. The characters that share her story have their own crosses to bear. Savannah tells their stories with compassion and understanding. The book touches on subject matter relevant in today's world such as: sexual identity, racial discrimination, L. G. B. T. Q issues, immigration, poverty, the generation gap, the opioid crisis, and many other timely topics.