Gradle Bird

About this book

WINNER OF THE 2018 SOUTHERN BOOK PRIZE WINNER OF THE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SILVER MEDAL AWARD FOR BEST NEW VOICE IN FICTION FINALIST FOR THE WILLIE MORRIS AWARD FOR SOUTHERN FICTION Sixteen-year-old Gradle Bird has lived her entire life with her Grandpa Leonard at a seedy motel and truck stop off Georgias I-16. But when Leonard moves her to a crumbling old house rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Ms. Annalee Spivey Gradle is plunged into a lush magical world much stranger and more dangerous than from the one she came. Here she meets Sonny Joe Stitch a Siamese Fighting Fish connoisseur overdosed on testosterone a crippled Bible-thumping hobo named Ceif "Tadpole" Walker and the only true friend she will ever know a schizophrenic genius music-man and professional dumpster-diver D-5 Delvis Miles. As Gradle falls deeper into Delviss imaginary and fantastical world unsettling dangers lurk and when surfaced Gradle discovers unforeseen depths in herself and the people she loves the most. Gradle Bird is an unusual tale of self-discovery and redemption that explores the infirmities of fatherly love the complexities of human cruelty and the consequences of guilt proving they are possible to overcome no matter how dark and horrible the cause.