Watermelon Winter
A Novel by Eva Gerber
Set in 1939 southern Ohio, Watermelon Winter follows Pearl as she navigates family obligation, newfound love, and the looming war that threatens to change everything.
Release Date: October 31, 2025
Publisher: Appalachian Press
Pages: 356
ISBN: 978-1-234567-89-0
About the Book
In the winter of 1939, as America holds its breath at the edge of war, twenty-year-old Pearl Henderson helps run her father's general store in the small river town of Millfield, Ohio. The store has been the heartbeat of the community through the Great Depression, a place where accounts are settled with produce when money runs short and local news travels faster than the train.
When a handsome stranger arrives to document the region for the Historical Records Survey, Pearl finds herself caught between her growing feelings for him and her responsibilities at home. Her father's declining health makes the store's survival uncertain, and Pearl's choices will determine not just her own future, but her family's legacy.
As winter deepens and food grows scarce, the town buzzes with the Henderson family's surprising solution: selling watermelons preserved from summer's harvest. This "watermelon winter" becomes a season of impossible choices, tested loyalties, and unexpected grace as Pearl discovers what it means to choose her own life without betraying her roots.
Advance Praise
"Eva Gerber's debut novel is a warm, tender portrait of small-town America on the brink of profound change. Her characters feel as real as neighbors, and the quiet heroism of everyday life shines on every page."
"Watermelon Winter captures the particular poetry of Appalachian life—the hard truths and unexpected sweetness, the fierce loyalty to family and the courage to forge one's own path. A remarkable debut."
