Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town

Product Description

A lyrical and heartfelt collection by an award-winning writer that connects the lives of young people from small towns in Alaska and the American west. Each story is unique, yet universal.

In this book, the impact of wildfire, a wayward priest, or a mysterious disappearance ricochet across communities, threading through stories. Here, ordinary actions such as ice skating or going to church reveal hidden truths. One choice threatens a lifelong friendship. Siblings save each other. Rescue and second chances are possible, and so is revenge.

On the surface, it seems that nothing ever happens in these towns. But Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock shows that underneath that surface, teenagers’ lives blaze with fury, with secrets, and with love so strong it burns a path to the future.

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Dog-sledding in Alaska, enjoying ice cream on the beach in Washington, playing basketball in Montana-each short story in this collection, all set west of the Mississippi in rural areas, features characters with unique interests and situations. One character is juggling her grief and anger, another is chasing after a lost lover after receiving a postcard from him. The tales are all connected. For example, a minor character in one is the star in the next. There are darker threads too: missing girls and sexual predators; ambivalence between long-time friends and significant others; and the constant, crushing scrutiny everyone is under in sparsely populated areas. All of the stories take place in the 1990s, but characters often discuss and cope with topics that teenagers today would recognize, such as wildfires, avoiding straws to help the environment, and a skepticism of the media. This is also a good demonstration of the variation of small towns: Some feature gun-toting and pious characters, while others feature feminists who relate to the oceanic tides. Most characters in the collection are white, and there is one major character who is gay. VERDICT Recommended for libraries in rural areas as well as those with high readership of nature and true crime books.-Susan Elofson, Airport H.S., West Columbia, SCα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

Honors and Praise for The Smell of Other People’s Houses 
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal
William C Morris YA Debut Award, Finalist
Multiple best of the year lists
 

★ “Exquisitely drawn, deeply heartfelt.”—
Booklist, starred 
 
“A singular debut.” —
Wall Street Journal

 
“A captivating debut by an exciting new author.” —
Guardian

“This will inspire readers to count degrees of separation and ponder the temporal and spatial distances tragedy can reach.” —
The Bulletin

About the Author

Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock was born and raised in Alaska. She worked for many years commercial fishing with her family and as a public radio reporter all over the state. Her debut novel,
The Smell of Other People’s Houses, was a William C. Morris Award Finalist and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. She currently lives and writes in a yurt outside Fairbanks. Visit her online at hitchcockbs.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Angry Starfish

Gina pushed the metal snow shovel across the ice, carving a path that she and Poppy could then skate on. Well, if Poppy would quit whining and get her skates laced. Somehow Gina had gotten roped into taking her dad’s girlfriend’s kid to the pond. She’d only relented because it was minus twenty outside and Poppy had looked horrified at the idea. Her dad’s getting a new girlfriend had given Gina’s anger a whole new lease on life.

Until recently, she’d thought it had been waning, but mostly it just smoldered inside her rib cage. It was exhausting, being herself, fighting so hard all the time. She had been almost ready to just give up and let it all go. “Moving on” was what her counselor called it, and Gina wondered if she mea