Only the Beautiful

Meissner (The Last Year of the War) returns with another World War II–era story rich with historical detail. After 16-year-old Rosanne is orphaned by an accident, she must navigate a new life with the Calvert family, owners of a California vineyard where her parents previously lived and worked. Treated as a new member of the household staff instead of as an honorary family member, she hides her grief and her synesthesia, specifically an ability to see colors in words. When a pregnancy is revealed, she’s sent to a home for the “unwanted,” people with mental illness and disabilities. Rosanne’s journey continues at a heartbreaking pace until the narration switches mid-novel to the voice of Helen Calvert, the vineyard owner’s sister. Helen’s career as a nanny in Europe evolves after she agrees to save children from the Nazis, despite risk to herself. As she concludes that chapter of her life, she returns to the family vineyard, where her and Rosanne’s stories dovetail, allowing readers to compare and contrast the U.S. and European experiments in eugenics.