The Family Tree

Christmas tree farm owner Charles Gibson and his twelve-year-old granddaughter Iris don't even know each other, but are each stumped by their family trees. Charles is ill, and discouraged, without his sons to help or inherit his legacy. Only a few hundred miles away, Iris only wants a few more blocks filled in on her middle school genealogy project-was that really too much to ask?

There are books about kids who want to know about an absent parent, about Christmas tree farms at Christmastime, and about communities pulling together for a neighbor in need. The Family Tree begins in Los Angeles and ends in California's Gold Country, where a spirited young girl named Iris weaves all of these elements together when she sets out to discover the truth about her father.

Cynthia Rinear Bethune was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. She has been a freelance feature writer, ghostwriter, and is currently working on her next two novels, Brendan's Cross and You Belong to Me. Visit: facebook.com/authorTheFamilyTree/#