Stranded

My best friend, Katy, says a person with a sparkly two-part name like Kelly Louise should be guaranteed a little glamour and excitement and not be forced to move back to Mom's middle-of-nowhere hometown—now the center of a media frenzy since a farmer found an infant in his cornfield. (It just slipped from some mystery mother's body without anyone noticing.)

Bizzaro.

But Baby Grace shadows every hair flip, every wink, and is keeping me from losing my virginity, despite my dynamite new boots. Even Katy doesn't have any more good advice. The one boy around who rates anywhere near acceptable on the Maximum Man Scale only has eyes for my cousin, Natalie, who only has eyes for Jesus.

But Natalie has a secret.

Everyone is so busy burying the truth about Baby Grace, they can't see who they're burying alive.

Welcome to Heaven, Iowa.

J. T. Dutton is the author of Freaked, her debut novel. She was born in Connecticut, attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and afterward spent time in Portland, Maine, and New York City before moving to Alaska to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks MFA program. Her interests include backpacking, horseback riding, and yoga. She lives in eastern Ohio with her husband, her two children, and her cat.