Excerpt from The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

I sit for a while, doing nothing but wondering at being alone like this, wondering at the Prophet's visit, until Mother Sarah calls my name out in a weary cry, "Kyra Leigh, come on in. We"re going over to Mother Claire's place now."

"I"ll be back," I tell the tree, and the leaves rustle again with the wind.



I hear their voices as I get closer. I can hear the kids as they hurry to meet at Mother Claire's trailer. They laugh, someone whines, a young child cries out. Maybe one of the twins? I hurry to meet them.

Here are my brothers and sisters.

Here are my father's children.

Adam, 17.

Finn, 16.

Emily, 15.

Nathaniel, 15.

Me, almost 14.

Jackson, 13.

Robert, 13.

Laura, 12.

Thomas, 11.

Margaret, 10.

Candice, 10.

Abe, 9.

April, 8.

Christian, 6.

Meadow, 5.

Marie and Ruth, 4.

Excerpted from The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. Copyright © 2009 by Carol Lynch Williams. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.