"Skirting the edges of science fiction and dreamlike reality, the lyrical storytelling of The Crane Husband is the perfect format for this novel. Kelly Barnhill captures the questions, confusions, and desperate denials that settle into families torn asunder by domestic violence, through the eyes of a courageous midwestern teen. With radiant and arresting imagery, Barnhill beautifully weaves together the threads of broken hearts and broken dreams, lost childhoods, and the love for our families that keeps us strong."
Publisher Tordotcom
Publication Date 2023-02-28
Section New Hardcover - Fiction / Science Fiction / All Staff Suggestions / Fiction Suggestions / Melissa S.
Format Hardcover
ISBN 9781250850973
Beloved and bestselling author Kelly Barnhill brings her singular talents to a raw, powerful story of love, sacrifice, and family.
“Mothers fly away like migrating birds. This is why farmers have daughters.”
A fifteen-year-old teenager is the backbone of her small Midwestern family, budgeting the household finances and raising her younger brother while her mom, a talented artist, weaves beautiful tapestries. For six years, it’s been just the three of them—her mom has brought home guests at times, but none have ever stayed.
Yet when her mom brings home a six-foot tall crane with a menacing air, the girl is powerless to prevent her mom letting the intruder into her heart, and her children’s lives. Utterly enchanted and numb to his sharp edges, her mom abandons the world around her to weave the masterpiece the crane demands.
In this stunning contemporary retelling of “The Crane Wife” by the Newbery Medal-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon, one fiercely pragmatic teen forced to grow up faster than was fair will do whatever it takes to protect her family—and change the story.
