Out of Darkness

Out of Darkness

 

 Gr 9 Up–Set in 1937 Texas and focusing on the events leading up to and immediately following the New London School explosion—the deadliest school disaster in American history—this melancholic novel tells the ill-fated love story of Mexican American Naomi and African American Wash. Pérez’s honest prose lyrically explores racism and sexism while giving voice to those who have been marginalized within American history. A compelling tearjerker.

 

Ashley Hope Pérez is the author of the YA novels Out of Darkness (Carolrhoda Lab, 2015), The Knife and the Butterfly (Carolrhoda Lab, 2012), andWhat Can't Wait (Carolrhoda Lab, 2011). Her debut novel What Can't Wait won a spot on the 2012 YALSA Best Fiction for YA list, and The Knife and the Butterfly was included in the 2015 YALSA Popular Paperbacks list. Ashley grew up in Texas and taught high school in Houston before pursuing a PhD in comparative literature. She is now a visiting assistant professor of comparative studies at The Ohio State University and spends most of her time reading, writing, and teaching on topics from
global youth narratives to Latin American and Latina/o fiction. She lives in Ohio with her husband, Arnulfo, and their son, Liam Miguel. Visit her online at http://www.ashleyperez.com/.