Laney Mahler comes of age during the 1940s and 1950s in Esther Escott’s young adult fiction novel Plum Bottom.

Escott takes readers back to a time dominated by issues such as racial prejudice as she follows Laney’s journey from childhood to early adulthood. Each chapter stands alone as its own short story, centering on a different adventure or crisis-including telling lies, going on a first date, and finding and losing love. In one such chapter, Laney accepts a job at a resort where her first love works-only for him to dump her after helping her secure the job. Crestfallen, she decides to stay anyway and brave whatever comes her way.

Readers get a look inside Laney’s thinking as she confronts each dilemma in her own headstrong way-though she always learns from her parents and those around her. Her determination and personal growth become the core theme of this lighthearted novel, which is at once a nostalgic read for adults who grew up during a different era and a timeless coming-of-age tale for today’s teens.