Chalktown

the long version

"In sparsely populated George County, Mississippi, along a quiet dirt road lined by sharecropper houses, lies Chalktown, a small village of folks who communicate mostly through the chalkboards set up in the front yards of their houses. Down the road lives the Sheehand family: sixteen-year-old Hezekiah, his older sister, Arena, his mentally disabled younger brother, Yellababy, and their disaffected and often cruel mother, Susan Blair, whose husband has abandoned both the house and the family. One day, with Yellababy strapped to his back, Hez sets out for Chalktown, determined to plumb its mysteries, or perhaps just to get away from his shabby home's oppressive atmosphere. And, on that same spring day, the family he's left behind will confront a tragedy that at once erases Hez's bitter past and paves the way for a hopeful future."--BOOK JACKET.