Hallie Palmer

From a wonderful new voice in fiction comes the freshest and funniest novel to barrel down the pike since Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. In Beginner's Luck, Pedersen introduces us to the endearing oddballs of Cosgrove County, Ohio, who burst to life and steal our hearts--and none more so than Hallie Palmer, 16, savvy, and wise beyond her years, a young woman who knows life is a gamble...and sometimes you have to bet the house.

Card shark and former wild child Hallie Palmer returns to Cosgrove County, Ohio, and resumes her job as live-in yard person for the summer, and also for some damage control. Around town, folks assume that since Hallie didn't end up doing time after her previous escapades, she now has time for all of their troubles, and thus begins a series of uproarious adventures

When the death of her father leaves her mother in a state of shock, card shark Hallie Palmer Ñü returns home from college to deal herself in as head of a chaotic household and care for her eight younger siblings. But even after the invasion of those casserole carrying purveyors of comfort the local church ladies, Hallie's in a downward spiral. Thank goodness for old friends like Bernard and Gil who keep Hallie afloat as she discovers that life can indeed turn on a dime.

Best Bet is the story of a young woman’s journey to find out about the world, herself, and what she’s left behind. Humorous and heartfelt, the novel underscores the importance of friends, family, and a sense belonging. The characters in this modest but neighborly small town prove that a person need not be well-known or well-heeled to be happy, and that an ordinary existence made up of small but genuine moments can satisfy a soul that is hungry for life in all its glories and disappointments.