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The only remaining female in the George Nash family, Ociee chooses to view herself as more brother than sister. Her favorite outfit is soft, worn dungarees and her brother Ben's old shirt that Mama made. Ociee's hair is a wispy web of curls and, dreadfully, it usually falls in her face when her self-tied ribbons slide down her back. Her gray eyes sparkle as she delights in jumping on moving boxcars and chasing strangers who dare to wander upon her frontier Mississippi farm.

This same little tomboy also goes to great pains to cook and clean and make a home for her beloved Papa and brothers Fred and Ben. She tries valiantly to fill the hole her Mama's death has left in the family. She fingers Mama's locket and hopes the touch of it will make things feel better.

Ociee endears herself to all while she moves from her mother's traumatic funeral and its repercussions to a personal celebration of her own young life. Her eyes learn to see beyond stereotypes and traditional viewpoints as she looks into the hearts of people and finds only what is strong and joyful within them. Ociee giggles as only an innocent child can giggle; yet her youthful spirit carries what would seem to be the wisdom of an older soul.

Ociee triumphs over the sadness, fear, and anxiety of the painful occurrences of her early life. In doing just that, she will bloom in a new garden and weave her charm into the fabric of those who come to know her in a new home on Charlotte Street.

• July 2010 Indie Next List
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