Joan Riley Book order (chronological)

Two sisters could hardly be more different. At 27, Verona is bright and capable, but confused. Defiantly fat, she seeks refuge from a monotonous existence by imagining herself as the blond, blue-eyed heroine of popular romance. Desiree is more level-headed, but less than satisfied with her role as mother to two spirited daughters and unofficial uniform washer for her husband John and his football team. Then Granny Ruby and Grandpa Clifford arrive from Jamaica—and everything starts to look up.

This is the moving story of Adella, who moves to Jamaica where life seems to promise so much—a respectable career and the chance of professional status as a seamstress. Adella falls in love with Stanton, whom she eventually follows to England—and who then deserts her. Now a grandmother, Adella waits for her husband to return, haunted by memories and assessing what has been achieved over the years.

Her father's violence and her new classmate's hostility force Hyacinth, eleven, to try to forget her new home in England by dreaming about her old one in Jamaica