The Turquoise Bead

Twelve-year-old Pip visits an ancestral site on her neighbor Betty’ s land in New Mexico and has intriguing visions. She steals a turquoise bead from an anthill, convinced it will bring her good luck and improve her miserable life, which she attributes to her “ curse” — a facial port wine birthmark. When she befriends elderly Betty and attends archeology camp, she realizes she needs to return the bead but resists doing so. The bead seems to bring friends, self-esteem, and courage to face strangers, despite her “ curse.” She steals yet another bead, promising to return both beads— eventually. A nagging vision of a sad girl seems to plead for Pip to return her beads and Betty’ s hidden stash, but the girl may have another message that could change everything about Pip’ s miserable life, if Pip can open her heart to the possibilities.