Written when the author was in his early and mid-twenties, Until the Sun Breaks Down is a contemporary American Künstlerroman modeled on Dante’s Divine Comedy. In three parts and one hundred chapters that mirror Dante’s classic poem, Nicolello takes the reader through present-day American towns and cities: infernal, purgatorial, and paradisal aspects with nothing left off the table. In this, the second volume, or Purgatorio, William is delivered from disquieting Jerusalem into the kaleidoscopic world of San Francisco. Here the text's cast of characters extends considerably, taking on issues of the visible and invisible, chemical indulgence in an empire in decline, the fall of irony and the limits of nihilism, and modern concepts of liberation and bondage. Here the surface of things is immeasurably more satisfying than the small town of the preceding volume—but the hollow nature of the visible in time leads the pilgrim to perpetually consider and reconsider issues raised and expand issues introduced in the first volume. At the same time, The Recluse Finds a Way is a celebration of the Bay Area, and a way of life that, for all its purgatorial excesses, leads young William closer to developing a sense of aesthetic mysticism with which to constructively reject the modern world.

Written when the author was in his early and mid-twenties, Until the Sun Breaks Down is a contemporary American Kunstlerroman modeled on Dante's Divine Comedy. In three parts and one hundred chapters that mirror Dante's classic poem, Nicolello takes the reader through present-day American towns and cities: infernal, purgatorial, and paradisal aspects with nothing left off the table. At once a book that can be read without any prior knowledge of Dante as the chronicle of William Fellows, child of a poverty-stricken single mother and precocious student dreaming of something better than what society offers, the book will serve as a guide to untold disconsolate Westerners who are wondering what has happened to American literature; where Catholic voices might emerge from, and how; and a bulwark against militant atheism by immersing the subject head-on and elucidating how to remove one's self from technological desolation and recapture the essence of the Logos Incarnate, or the love that moves the sun and other stars.

Written when the author was in his early and mid-twenties, Until the Sun Breaks Down is a contemporary American Kunstlerroman modeled on Dante's Divine Comedy. In three parts and one hundred chapters that mirror Dante's classic poem, Nicolello takes the reader through present-day American towns and cities: infernal, purgatorial, and paradisal aspects with nothing left off the table. In this, the second volume, or Purgatorio, William is delivered from disquieting Jerusalem into the kaleidoscopic world of San Francisco. Here the text's cast of characters extends considerably, taking on issues of the visible and invisible, chemical indulgence in an empire in decline, the fall of irony and the limits of nihilism, and modern concepts of liberation and bondage. Here the surface of things is immeasurably more satisfying than the small town of the preceding volume--but the hollow nature of the visible in time leads the pilgrim to perpetually consider and reconsider issues raised and expand issues introduced in the first volume. At the same time, The Recluse Finds a Way is a celebration of the Bay Area, and a way of life that, for all its purgatorial excesses, leads young William closer to developing a sense of aesthetic mysticism with which to constructively reject the modern world.

Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" captured the imagination of readers in 1943. In the first published biography of Smith, the real-life stories behind the heroes in her novel are told.

Jacqueline Woodson's National Book Award and Newbery Honor winner is a powerful memoir that tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. A President Obama "O" Book Club pick Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become. Includes 7 additional poems, including "Brown Girl Dreaming." Praise for Jacqueline Woodson: "Ms. Woodson writes with a sure understanding of the thoughts of young people, offering a poetic, eloquent narrative that is not simply a story . . . but a mature exploration of grown-up issues and self-discovery.”—The New York Times Book Review

The coming-of-age story of one of Jamaica Kincaid's most admired creations--available now in an e-book edition. Lucy, a teenage girl from the West Indies, comes to America to work as an au pair for a wealthy couple. She begins to notice cracks in their beautiful façade at the same time that the mysteries of own sexuality begin to unravel. Jamaica Kincaid has created a startling new heroine who is destined to win a place of honor in contemporary fiction.

Wonderfully funny and also deeply touching, I Am One of You Forever is the story of a young boy's coming of age. Set in the hills and hollows of western North Carolina in the years around World War II, it tells of ten-year-old Jess and his family -- father, mother, grandmother, foster brother, and an odd assortment of other relatives -- who usher Jess into the adult world, with all its attendant joys and sorrows, knowledge and mystery. Jess's father is feisty, restless, and fun-loving. His mother is straitlaced and serious but accepts with grace and good humor the antics of the men of the family, a trait she learned from her own mother. Johnson Gibbs is the orphaned teenager who comes to live with them on their mountain farm. Life on the laurel-covered mountain is isolated and at times difficult, but for Jess it is made rich and remarkable through his relationship with his father and, especially, Johnson Gibbs. Visiting the farm from time to time is a gallery of eccentric relatives who are surely among the most memorable creations in recent fiction. Uncle Luden is a womanizer who left the mountains years ago for a job in California that "paid actual cash money." Uncle Gurton has a spooky way of appearing and disappearing without ever seeming to enter or exit, but it is his flowing beard, which he has apparently never trimmed and which he keeps tucked inside his overalls, that is of most fascination to Jess. Uncle Zeno is a storyteller. With the words "That puts me in mind of..." everyone around knows that he is about to launch into another of his endless tales. Uncle Runkin, who always brings his handmade coffin to sleep in whenever he visits, spends his time carving intricate designs into the coffin and trying to find just the right epitaph for his tombstone. Aunt Samantha Barefoot stops by for a brief spell, too. A country singer and cousin to Jess's grandmother, she is a woman of uncensored speech (Jess learns a lot from her) and honest emotions. Chappell tells the story of all of these characters in a series of chapters that range from fantasy and near farce to pathos. As notable for its lyrical descriptions of the rural settings as for its finely honed vernacular dialogue, I Am One of You Forever shows us a world full of wit and wisdom and the sadness at the heart of things. As one would expect from a poet like Fred Chappell, every line offers its own pleasures and satisfactions.