{"title":"Anne Valente","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"our-hearts-will-burn-us-down-a-novel","title":"Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of Refinery29's Best Reads for October\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of Ploughshares \"Most Necessary Books for the End of 2016\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe lives of four teenagers are capsized by a shocking school shooting and its aftermath in this powerful debut novel, a coming-of-age story with the haunting power of \u003cem\u003eStation Eleven\u003c\/em\u003e and the bittersweet poignancy of \u003cem\u003eEverything I Never Told You.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs members of the yearbook committee, Nick, Zola, Matt, and Christina are eager to capture all the memorable moments of their junior year at Lewis and Clark High School—the plays and football games, dances and fund-drives, teachers and classes that are the epicenter of their teenage lives. But how do you document a horrific tragedy—a deadly school shooting by a classmate? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStruggling to comprehend this cataclysmic event—and propelled by a sense of responsibility to the town, their parents, and their school—these four \"lucky\" survivors vow to honor the memories of those lost, and also, the memories forgotten in the shadow of violence. But the shooting is only the first inexplicable trauma to rock their small suburban St. Louis town. A series of mysterious house fires have hit the families of the victims one by one, pushing the grieving town to the edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNick, the son of the lead detective investigating the events, plunges into the case on his own, scouring the Internet to uncover what could cause a fire with no evident starting point. As their friend pulls farther away, Matt and Christina battle to save damaged relationships, while Zola fights to keep herself together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA story of grief, community, and family, of the search for understanding and normalcy in the wake of devastating loss, \u003cem\u003eOur Hearts Will Burn Us Down\u003c\/em\u003e explores profound questions about resiliency, memory, and recovery that brilliantly illuminate the deepest recesses of the human heart.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anne Valente","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":53497218564387,"sku":"9780062429148","price":15.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":53139862159651,"sku":"9780062429117","price":20.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780062429117.jpg?v=1741115199"},{"product_id":"the-desert-sky-before-us-a-novel","title":"The Desert Sky Before Us: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eThe Desert Sky Before Us\u003c\/em\u003e is a marvel. A vital, profound story of the aftermath of loss, and of the terrors and illuminations of love.\" —R.O. Kwon, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Incendiaries\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom award-winning author Anne Valente comes this poignant and unforgettable literary novel of two estranged sisters—one, a former racecar driver and the other a recently-released prisoner—who embark on a road trip together to complete the scavenger hunt their mother designed for them before her death.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Billie is released from a correctional facility in Decatur, her sister Rhiannon is there to meet her, even though the two haven’t seen each other in months. Painful secrets and numerous unspoken betrayals linger between them—but most agonizing is the sudden passing of their mother, a renowned paleontologist. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRhiannon and Billie must overcome their differences as they set off on a road trip west, following the breadcrumb-trail of their late mother’s scavenger hunt, a sort of second funeral she planned in her final days. The sisters know the trail will end in Utah at the famous Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry, where their mother spent her career researching dinosaur fossils. But the seemingly endless days on the road soon take their toll, forcing Rhiannon and Billie to confront their hostilities and revisit old memories—both good and bad.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs they travel across the heart of America, and as a series of plane crashes in the news make their journey all the more urgent, the two sisters begin to rediscover each other and to uncover their late mother’s veiled second life, taking them on an unexpected emotional journey inward—and forcing them to come to terms with their own choices in life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anne Valente","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":53147889107235,"sku":"9780062749871","price":12.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780062749871.jpg?v=1741140733"}],"url":"https:\/\/epicreads.com\/collections\/anne-valente.oembed","provider":"Epic Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}