The Desert Sky Before Us

From award-winning author Anne Valente comes this poignant and unforgettable literary novel of two estranged sisters—one a former race car driver and the other a recently released prisoner–who embark on a road trip together to complete the scavenger hunt their mother designed for them before her deathWhen Billie is released from a correctional facility in Decatur, her sister Rhiannon is there to meet her, even though the two haven’t seen each other in months. Painful secrets and numerous unspoken betrayals linger between them—but most agonizing is the sudden passing of their mother, a renowned paleontologist.Rhiannon and Billie must overcome their differences as they set off on a road trip west, following the bread crumb trail of their late mother’s scavenger hunt, a sort of second funeral she planned in her final days. The sisters know the trail will end in Utah at the famous Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, where their mother spent her career researching fossils. But the seemingly endless days on the road soon take their toll, forcing Rhiannon and Billie to confront their hostilities and revisit old memories.As they travel across the heart of America, and as a series of plane crashes in the news makes their journey feel increasingly urgent, the two sisters begin to rediscover each other, taking them on an unexpected emotional journey inward, and forcing them to confront their own choices in life.