Heidi Durrow -- The Girl Who Fell From The Sky

Start: 05/20/2010 7:00 pm

End: 05/20/2010 8:00 pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-8

Heidi grew up in Portland, and we met her at the PNBA Booksellers event last September. She is very warm and funny and we are excited that she could fit us into her schedule! Come hear her talk about her debut novel, which won Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize in 2008.

The Bellwether Prize seeks to support a literature of social responsibility. Its intent is to advocate serious literary fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships. The prize is awarded to a previously unpublished novel representing excellence in this genre.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky (Hardcover)

By Heidi W. Durrow

$22.95

ISBN-13: 9781565126800
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2/2010

Other Editions of this Title

Durrow's debut draws from her own upbringing as the brown-skinned, blue-eyed daughter of a Danish woman and a black G.I. to create Rachel Morse, a young girl with an identical heritage growing up in the early 1980s.

After a devastating family tragedy in Chicago with Rachel the only survivor, she goes to live with the paternal grandmother she's never met, in a decidedly black neighborhood in Portland, Ore. Suddenly, at 11, Rachel is in a world that demands her to be either white or black.

As she struggles with her grief and the haunting, yet-to-be-revealed truth of the tragedy, her appearance and intelligence place her under constant scrutiny. Laronne, Rachel's deceased mother's employer, and Brick, a young boy who witnessed the tragedy and because of his personal misfortunes is drawn into Rachel's world, help piece together the puzzle of Rachel's family.

Taut prose, a controversial conclusion and the thoughtful reflection on racism and racial identity resonate without treading into political or even overtly specific agenda waters, as the story succeeds as both a modern coming-of-age and relevant social commentary. "(Feb.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

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