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Have you ever heard of Elizabeth Tilley? Probably not. Bess Tilley was one of the young Pilgrim teenagers who, along with her parents, made the historic Mayflower journey to America. The Pilgrim fathers are often the ‘stars’ of the story. But what about the children and youth who came along? 

Very little is written about their role in this story, but it had to be significant. The Pilgrim fathers began the quest for liberty when they were able to study their Bible on their own for the first time. They risked everything they had to come to the New World and establish a colony that honored God and allowed them to live a life of liberty and freedom of conscience. But their children had to carry this message forward. How did Bess respond to that challenge?

When her life was in peril on the ocean journey, did she question her parents’ judgment in making the trip? When she was orphaned in a strange land because sickness and disease took the lives of her parents, did she question God’s love for her? When starvation and want settled over the colony for months on end, did she lose hope? How could a young girl survive so much hardship in such a harsh environment?

In the end, Bess chose to place her trust in God. The faith she learned from her parents and the other Separatist leaders became her own. Bess eventually married another Mayflower passenger, John Howland, and they had ten children who all survived to adulthood. When Bess died, she had eighty-eight grandchildren, and today it is believed that Bess and John Howland have the most descendants of any of the original Mayflower passengers, more than 2 million. What a legacy for a young girl no one has heard of! 

Until now…

It’s the beginning of summer vacation, but Tori Perelli isn’t looking forward to the next three months. She’s on her way to Wisconsin with family to take care of her great-grandmother, Nonna Perelli. Tori and Nonna have never gotten along, and Tori can’t think of anything more boring than spending the whole summer babysitting the grouchy old woman.

But Nonna has changed, and Tori feels sympathy for her grandmother for the first time in her life. Nonna is still grouchy, but she’s also forgetful, she has memories of people that no one else knows, and she sometimes hides in her closet. 

When Tori discovers a forest hide-away that reveals secrets from Nonna’s past, she begins to understand Nonna’s cranky personality. She wants to help her grandmother come to terms with the problems from her past, but none of that matters when Nonna disappears. Finding her grandmother safe is the only thing that does.

Ralph the Rack Monster is hired by the Carmichael parents to keep their rambunctious boys in bed at night. Ralph is a “short little blue ball of fur, with a grin that spread ear to ear,” and the Carmichael kids take on the challenge of outwitting the friendly little monster.

Ralph is well-intentioned, but his innocent blundering only makes matters worse when he keeps all the wrong people in bed. Can Ralph’s sincerity and optimism overcome his ineptitude and help him win the bed-time battle?