Good as Gold

Casey Whitecroft, who is Black, used to live alongside the affluent, largely white population of her Langston, Ga., town, until her father’s business went belly up and the family had to move into her late grandmother’s house. There, she lives among most of Langston’s financially imperiled, ethnically diverse residents. Though she’s skeptical of any chances to attend Barnard, her dream school, she’s started waiting tables at the country club she used to belong to, hoping to beef up her extremely diminished college fund. But when the county threatens to seize their house, Casey is determined to do whatever it takes to keep her family from ending up on the streets. Seeking a solution, she finds allies in her coworkers, who are convinced that the stories of an abandoned mining town submerged in the reservoir that’s said to contain hidden treasure is more than a tall tale for tourists. As Casey and her coconspirators dig deeper into the history behind this legend, however, they uncover secrets that some people will do anything to keep buried. By keeping the circumstances behind Langston’s founding close to the vest and juxtaposing Casey’s previously privileged life with that of her peers on the other side of town, Buford (Kneel) develops a tightly plotted mystery with high stakes and nail-biting tension. Ages 12–up. Agent: Carrie Pestritto, Laura Dail Literary. (June)