The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

For longtime Ya-Ya fans, as well as the lucky ones discovering Wells for the first time, comes Wells’s new standalone novel about the pull of first love, the power of home, and everyday magic.

“My name is Calla Lily Ponder. I was born in 1953, in La Luna, Louisiana.”

So begins Calla Lily’s journey through her magical childhood in La Luna, a small town named after the sparkling river from which Calla draws her strength time and time again. It’s in La Luna where Calla Lily discovers her talent for fixing people’s hair—learned at the side of her talented and loving mother—but also the transformative gift of first love.

A series of tragic events leads Calla to search for a fresh start in a beauty school in New Orleans, the wild and colourful city that allows Calla to flourish into adulthood, and to realize her “healing hands” can do much more than fix damaged hair.