The Finer Grain by Denise Ohio

Amory Walker is nineteen years old. Tormented by a recurring nightmare that haunts her waking life, she has existed in a state of paralysis since the death of Jessie, the devoutly religious woman who raised her.

Amory's only legacy is a house - hers to sell, trade, or burn to the ground. And there is a photo album, tantalizing in its hints of a past hidden from Amory, a past buried along with Jessie in her snow - covered grave.

Amory sells the house and escapes her stagnant home town of Sterling, West Virginia for college - only to find the reality of her recurring nightmare exposed to the brutal light of day in a women's studies class. And she is panicked by her attraction to the brash, confident, openly lesbian Cady Baird.

Then, unexpectedly, the entire riddle of Jessie - and of Amory's past and present - opens before Amory's astonished eyes.