My sister is destroying the town I left behind, and she has no idea I'm back

by Michael Hernandez

After a decade away, Emma returns to her coastal hometown expecting to find it exactly as she left it—only to discover the community clinic where she once worked is crumbling, Main Street is lined with shuttered shops, and the neighbors she grew up with won't meet her eyes. Her sister Grace, now the town's beloved mayor, is behind a sweeping "revitalization" plan that everyone seems to worship, but Emma recognizes the warning signs no one else can see. Determined to protect the place she abandoned, Emma must navigate her guilt over leaving, her complicated history with the people she left behind, and the growing suspicion that her sister's grand vision might destroy the town's soul. But Grace doesn't know Emma has come home, and every day that secret holds is another day closer to catastrophe. In a battle between two sisters who both believe they're saving their hometown, only one vision can survive.