The latest New York Times bestseller from beloved author Alice Hoffman celebrates the enduring magic of books and is a ΓÇ£wonderful story of love and growthΓÇ¥ (Stephen King). One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive,the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlierbut it seems to tell the story of MiaΓÇÖs motherIvyand their life inside the CommunityΓÇöan oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her? Through a journey of heartbreakloveand timeMia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she doesshe realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to youand that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagineand that love is stronger than any chains that bind you. As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die? From ΓÇ£the reigning queen of magical realismΓÇ¥ (Kristin HannahNew York Times bestselling author)this is the story of one womanΓÇÖs dream. For a little while it came true.