the impossible knife of memory
New York: Viking Press, 2014. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Signed by the author sticker on the front of the DJ. Signed by the author on the title page. DJ has wear, edge tear, and soiling. This was a 2014 National Book Award Finalist. Laurie Halse Anderson is an American writer, known for children's and young adult novels. She received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for her contribution to young adult literature. Anderson began her career as a freelance journalist and worked at The Philadelphia Inquirer in the early years of her career. During this time, Anderson also began to write children's and young adult novels. Anderson released her first children's novel, Ndito Runs, in 1996, based on Kenyan Olympic marathon runners who ran to and from school each day. Later that year, she had her story Turkey Pox published. This story was inspired by her daughter, Meredith, who broke out with chickenpox on Thanksgiving. In 1998, Anderson published No Time For Mother?s Day, featuring the same characters. During her early career, Anderson wrote several pieces of non-fiction. The first was a children's book featuring Saudi Arabia. She also co-authored a book about parenting shy children with Dr. Ward Swallow. She was first recognized for her novel Speak, published in 1999. Laurie Halse Anderson has been a runner-up for the Michael L. Printz+ Award and the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own. Will being back home help Andy's PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down. Derived from a Kirkus review: A family struggles to hold itself together in the wake of war. Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, a decorated veteran, have returned to their small upstate New York hometown after years of unschooling and long-haul trucking. Ostensibly, they?re back so Hayley can have a typical senior year of high school, but it?s clear that Andy?s untreated PTSD has made it impossible for him to make a living as a trucker. Both Kincains are bright, sarcastic loners plagued by agonizing memories that won?t quite stay repressed, despite their best efforts, and that punctuate the narrative in counterpoint: Andy?s experiences during his four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan appear fully formed, while Hayley?s childhood recollections are more fragmented and less reliable than they at first seem. As Andy?s mental and physical health deteriorate, Hayley is forced deeper into the role of caretaker. It?s a part she?s been playing so well for so long she doesn?t even realize how much she resents the unfairness of it all until her sweet, bantering boyfriend, Finn, points it out. Anderson sensitively addresses the many problems?physical recovery, grief and survivor?s guilt, chemical dependency, panic attacks and suicidal tendencies?that veterans can face when trying to reintegrate. This is less a bravura performance than a solid one, but Hayley?s strong, wryly vulnerable voice carries the narrative toward a resolutely imperfect, hopeful conclusion. A characteristically honest and deeply felt exploration of the lingering scars of war. Condition: Good / Good.
Keywords: Hayley Kincain, PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress, Andy Kincain, Trucker, Caretaker, Grief, Chemical Dependency, Suicidal tendencies, Panic Attacks, Veterans
ISBN: 9780670012091
[Book #84661]
Price: $45.00