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Still Life With Tornado Audiobook
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Publisher Description
A heartbreaking and mindbending story of a talented teenage artist's awakening to the brokenness of her family from critically acclaimed award-winner A.S. King.
Sixteen-year-old Sarah can't draw. This is a problem, because as long as she can remember, she has "done the art." She thinks she's having an existential crisis. And she might be right; she does keep running into past and future versions of herself as she wanders the urban ruins of Philadelphia. Or maybe she's finally waking up to the tornado that is her family, the tornado that six years ago sent her once-beloved older brother flying across the country for a reason she can't quite recall. After decades of staying together "for the kids" and building a family on a foundation of lies and domestic violence, Sarah's parents have reached the end. Now Sarah must come to grips with years spent sleepwalking in the ruins of their toxic marriage. As Sarah herself often observes, nothing about her pain is remotely original—and yet it still hurts.
Insightful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, this is a vivid portrait of abuse, survival, resurgence that will linger with readers long after the last page.
A New York Times 2016 Notable Children's Book
A News & Observer Best Book of 2016
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2016
A Booklist Best Book of 2016
Booklist Top of the List 2016
A Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2016
A BookPage Best Teen Book of 2016
A Bustle Top 30 YA Book of 2016
“Read this book, whatever your age. You may find it’s the exact shape and size of the hole in your heart.”—The New York Times
“Surreal and thought-provoking.”—People Magazine
★ ”A deeply moving, frank, and compassionate exploration of trauma and resilience, filled to the brim with incisive, grounded wisdom.” —Booklist, starred review
★ ”King writes with the confidence of a tightrope walker working without a net.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
★"[King] blurs reality, truth, violence, emotion, creativity, and art in a show of respect for YA readers."—Horn Book Magazine, starred review
★ “King’s brilliance, artistry, and originality as an author shine through in this thought-provoking work. […] An unforgettable experience.” SLJ, starred review
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“Books about abusive families generally follow the problem-novel script of recognition, admission, and solution; in her inimitable style, King takes a totally different tack, exploring the way abuse warps and gnarls a family over time…Readers won’t have to live with abuse firsthand to recognize the taut, invisible coils of family dysfunction and the difficulty of gaining perspective on it, let alone breaking free.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
Quotes
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“Surreal and thought provoking.”
— People -
“Moving, unapologetically strange, skillfully constructed… Read this book, whatever your age. You may find it’s the exact shape and size of the hole in your heart.”
— New York Times -
“You’ll find Still Life’s exploration of an artist’s inner strength particularly enriching.”
— Teen Vogue -
“Karissa Vacker’s tones are subdued as she narrates the first-person story of sixteen-year-old Sarah. Her muted performance matches the heroine’s depressed affect. But there lurks in Vacker’s restraint an edge that hints at Sarah’s emotional tornadoes…The skills of author and narrator make a seamless transition into magical realism…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile -
“King writes with the confidence of a tightrope walker working without a net.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
”A deeply moving, frank, and compassionate exploration of trauma and resilience.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Blurs reality, truth, violence, emotion, creativity, and art in a show of respect for YA readers.”
— Horn Book Guide (starred review)
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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A New York Times Notable Book of 2016
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A Bustle Pick of Top 30 YA Books of 2016
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A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016
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A Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2016
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A BookPage Best Book for Teens in 2016
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A School Library Journal Best Book of 2016
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A Booklist Best Book of 2016
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About A. S. King
A. S. King is the award-winning author of eight acclaimed novels for young adults. Her novel Please Ignore Vera Dietz earned a 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor and Ask the Passengers won the 2013 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. The New York Times called her “one of the best YA writers working today.” King lives with her family in Pennsylvania, where she returned after living on a farm and teaching adult literacy in Ireland for more than a decade.
About Karissa Vacker
Karissa Vacker is a multiple AudioFile Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator and actress. After graduating with a BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, she performed in regional theaters across the country before moving to Los Angeles. She has guest starred in network television shows and films and continues to work on screen and stage. Her audiobook credits include romance, young adult fiction, and mystery thrillers.