FALLING BOY

The acclaimed author of 'Shadow Baby' has written a tale about the power and imagination of storytelling - a modern tale in the vein of The Lord of the Flies. When 16-year-old Joseph mysteriously appears at the start of a hot Minneapolis summer, he is silent and traumatized. He will not explain how he came to be in a wheelchair. Dubbed the Beekeeper by his co-workers, Joseph reluctantly tries to keep the peace between sparring Zap and nine-year-old Enzo. The boys all inhabit dual realities, as super heroes and children, each with a secret of their own. Before the summer ends, Zap and Enzo discover what really happened to Joseph. In spare and beautiful prose, Alison McGhee once again reveals her acute and powerful understanding of teenage anger and grief.

Alison McGhee is the author of Rainlight, Was It Beautiful?, and the NBC Today show's Today's Book Club pick Shadow Baby. She also writes books for young adults and children. Her short fiction and poetry have been published widely in literary magazines.

FALLING BOY
Deutsch von Birgitt Kollmann
[HC Hanser 03/09]