Glass Inheritance by Ronica Stromberg

Samantha’s grandmother dies, leaving her an unusual inheritance: a clear, glass plate and a letter. The letter tells Samantha that she has one month in which to solve a mystery to find the rest of her inheritance. The plate is her first clue.

Samantha soon tracks down another plate and learns that the two plates were made during The Depression, the time when her grandmother grew up. Before she can hunt for more information, a friend of her spoiled, younger brother breaks one of the plates—and when Samantha responds by breaking one of her brother’s toy statues, she is grounded. Precious time is lost.

When the grounding period is over, Samantha must hurry to discover more about the mystery and learns more about The Great Depression and World War II. She also uncovers a troubling secret. Grandmother had been engaged to a German active in the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi group in America. Samantha reveals this secret to her mother, who responds by ordering Samantha to baby-sit her brother for the rest of the summer. This poses a vexing problem; how to baby-sit Michael without speaking to him while seeking understanding of her grandmother’s choice and still solving the mystery of her inheritance.

Samantha begins to understand the dark side to all humanity—and realizes that she, too, has difficult choices to make in her thorny relations with her mother and brother. The line between good and evil is not drawn between any two persons but through their very hearts. She has a responsibility to choose the good. Reconciliation with Michael leads to communication and better understanding. And Michael ultimately helps Samantha to solve the remaining.

Ronica Stromberg's latest novels are in the Kirsten Hart Series published by Royal Fireworks Press. She also writes for newspapers and magazines. She is an avid collector of Depression Glass. Amember of the Kansas City Christian Writers’Network, she and her family reside in Kansas City, Kansas.