The Seed

When Julia Stockheim is found on the roof of her middle school on the last day of eighth grade, her parents send her to Pairdodge Academy, a boarding school in the mountains. Julia is reluctant to get close to anyone at Pairdodge, and writes home to her best friend Michelle. She reminisces on times they spent together, but reassures her friend that no one could ever replace her, that she will never forget her. The utopian school assigns Julia to a “Big” named Tracy, whose apparent mission all year is to torment her with kindness, all-the-while being overwhelmed with people who genuinely care— something Julia has never experienced before.

“The Seed” is the freshman project, where every student is instructed to grow a seed, personalized to them based on their recommendation letter. While some students are happy to see their “Pairdodge Flowers” bloom, revealing their inner truths, others aren’t, like her crush Kai’Mari, and Julia’s life-of-the-party roommate Martina (“Marty”) who grows a flower that only blooms at night…

As her classmates’ seeds grow and bloom, Julia’s seed refuses to sprout, which makes her worry that she too will never grow to make true friends. Would they treat her differently if they knew what brought her to the roof that fateful day? Why is it just so hard to open up? With the help of her classmates and a secret all-girl society, Julia learns that everyone has a story, sometimes as dark as her own, and that everybody deserves a space to heal.

Author Biography

Tracy Conte was a high school math teacher for 10 years, and has always loved to read and travel to the mountains in her spare time. She also enjoys riddles and puzzles, and can’t say no to a good escape room. Tracy wrote this novel in the summer of 2024 for her fourteen-year-old self because as a teenager she battled depression and suicidal thoughts, and wanted an outlet to heal. She became a teacher mostly because she wanted to be like the handful of impactful mentors that she had growing up, who truly saw her. She wrote them into her story to share with you. Tracy now lives with her two beautiful children, and husband of twelve years. She lives in North Carolina.