Deep in the center of every tree, you'll find the heartwood. This wood is the very soul of a tree.

The characters in this book by poet Nikky Finney are the heartwood of their small Kentucky communities. You'll meet Buck Jones and Mae Bennet, whose anger has twisted them up inside, Queenie Sims and Arizona Scott, who can see the good in people, and Trina Sims and Jenny Bryan, two young women who discover how much they are alike despite their different skin color.

Set in rural Kentucky, this story is filled with the sights and sounds, hopes and hurts of a land and its people. Breathing with life and vitality, Heartwood moves its readers to speak out and remind the world of the goodness it so easily forgets. The characters of Heartwood lead the way for us in this beautiful story.