Just Sixteen.

A snowstorm blankets the seaside town of Sandyport, turning its streets into a white, restless playground while the Talcott household prepares for a different kind of farewell. Georgie, twenty and on the brink of leaving the home that has sheltered her childhood, burns the remnants of her past—a chipped chopping bowl, scrap wood, and other odds and ends—in a small fire that seems to symbolize the end of her familiar world. As she watches the storm rage outside, memories of her mother’s warm kitchen and Christmas pies mingle with the bitter reality that the house will close its doors forever.

The novel follows Georgie through a week of uneasy goodbyes, visits to a cousin, and the looming pressure to carve out a future without the modest pension that once sustained her family. With gentle humor and poignant observation, it captures the quiet desperation of a young woman trying to reconcile love for her heritage with the need to become self‑reliant. The winter setting mirrors her inner chill, promising a thoughtful exploration of choice, identity, and the uncertain road ahead.