The Key to Extraordinary, Natalie Lloyd’s 2016 middle grade novel, charts Emma Pearl Casey’s quest to fulfill her destiny and continue the family legacy of exceptional women. As she learns about Civil War history, embraces the magic of Blackbird Hollow, and grapples with the loss of her mother, Emma realizes what is most important. Her journey of loss and love emphasizes the themes of Destiny’s Role in Self-Discovery, The Impact of Family Legacy, and The Power of Community.

This guide refers to the 2016 Scholastic Press print edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss parental death and grief.

Plot Summary

On her 10th birthday, Emma Pearl Casey learns from her dying mother about her family’s legacy of greatness. Dating back hundreds of years, their female ancestors, known as the Wildflowers, each had a “Destiny Dream” foreshadowing something extraordinary. Both Emma’s grandmother and mother have had the dream. From being a spy to fighting for women’s rights, the feats of their ancestors are chronicled in the Book of Days.

Two years later, Emma wakes one morning with the “Big Empty,” grief for her deceased mom. Despite this feeling, she loves her home: the Boneyard Cafe and the cemetery where she conducts daily tours. Her grandmother Granny Blue runs the bakery, where townsfolk find comfort in Boneyard Brew and merriment in the jamborees. At the graveyard, she greets familiar faces, including Uncle Periwinkle (or Peri) and Aunt Greta. A hiker from the Appalachian Trail, Waverly Valentine, joins the tour and asks about the legends of Blackbird Hollow. Uncle Peri describes the Conductor, a ghost believed to be a Civil War soldier who hid treasure. As a kid, Peri once heard the ghost’s cryptic song.

Later, Emma learns that Granny Blue might sell the cafe to Warren Steele, a greedy developer. Upset, Emma urges her not to sign the contract. That night, Emma peruses the Book of Days. Blue ripped out her page, and so did Lily Kate Abernathy. On a whim, Emma sings to the Conductor, intending to find treasure and save the cafe. When she hears the ghost’s song, Emma races outside, where a figure emerges from behind a grave. Emma follows it, only to discover a real boy who silently runs off. Then, the song lures her to the Thicket, the forbidden part of the graveyard. Shimmering blue flowers illuminate a path, but Blue appears and leads her back home. That night, Emma has her Destiny Dream: It shows an old key lying on top of violets, daisies, and red roses.

The next day, Emma puzzles over her dream with Cody Belle Chitwood, her best friend. During the jamboree, a boy arrives. It is Earl Chance, someone they used to know and the boy from the graveyard. He has not spoken since he survived a tornado. As the band plays “Darlin’ Daisy,” a folksong, a howling wind flings the doors open, and rose petals fall in torrents from the sky. It is a Gypsy Rose summer, a rare occurrence when ghosts seek the attention of the living.

When Emma realizes that her destiny is to find the hidden treasure, she returns to the Thicket with Cody Belle. The shimmering flowers lead to Lily Kate’s grave, which contains an etching of a compass rose. Returning home, Emma learns that Warren’s men will survey the land, so she and Cody Belle make signs and gather protestors, including Earl. After Warren’s men are scared off by ghostly sounds, Uncle Peri beckons Emma to his farm. She cycles there with Cody Belle and Earl, where they follow Aunt Greta into the forest. There, magical Telling Vines reveal messages in the wind. One says to find Lily Kate, as the Conductor holds the key.

Later, they hear about a compass rose etched into the Abernathys’ old chimney in the Wailing Woods. Seeking treasure, Emma and her friends trek there, led by Penny Lane the crow, and discover a metal box containing an old church hymnal. Discouraged, Cody Belle departs, and Emma talks with Earl, who communicates in writing, among other things, that the only place he feels safe is beneath his house. Later, Emma finds Granny Blue, who teaches Emma to make Boneyard Brew with the secret ingredient: hope gathered from the dust of the North Star. Blue also shares that boxing gloves appeared in her Destiny Dream but that she failed to become a champion fighter.

Later, when Emma flips through the Book of Days, a Telling Vine falls out, and a child sings “Darlin’ Daisy” mixed with the Conductor’s tune. Suddenly, Emma remembers the star-shaped holes in the cafe floor and deduces, based on the song, that the treasure lies beneath it. Entering the empty cafe and ignoring a note to call Granny Blue, Emma descends into the cellar and notices a door leading to caves. Penny Lane swoops overhead, and Emma discovers a treasure chest and Warren Steele.

When Cody Belle shouts down about Earl being lost in the storm, Emma leaves the treasure to save her friend. At Earl’s house, the girls find him beneath the porch, so Emma crawls under and cajoles him out. Meanwhile, the water rises, and Emma accidentally swallows some. Earl pulls her out and shouts her name. Once safely inside, Earl speaks about surviving the tornado and why he was in the graveyard. He dreamt of finding his voice there, but once in the cemetery, he only found a key. It is the key from Emma’s Destiny Dream. Back at the cafe, Emma relinquishes the key to Warren, who storms off when they only find a book. Alone, the kids discover a letter from Amelia Abernathy recounting Lily Kate’s tale. Both girls were conductors in the Underground Railroad, helping enslaved people seek freedom in the North. Lily Kate’s entry was removed from the Book of Days to preserve their secret. Her advice is to understand that people are the real treasure.

Ultimately, Emma and her friends save the cafe, as many tourists visit, and the state of Tennessee deems the land a historical site. A month later, Emma celebrates her 12th birthday. She sees Granny Blue’s entry taped into the Book of Days and finally adds her own.