Tells the story of eleven-year old Pecola Breedlove, an African-American girl. She prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blonde, blue-eyed children in America, people will notice her, and her world will be different. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom, Pecola's life changes in painful, devastating ways.