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Simon & Schuster
February 2019
On Sale: February 12, 2019
272 pages ISBN: 1501190296 EAN: 9781501190292 Kindle: B07GNTYZR9 Hardcover / e-Book
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Other Editions Trade Size (reprint - February 2020)
Coming of Age | Fiction Family Life
A stunning debut novel set in the late 1990s as an
androgynous youth arrives in small-town Minnesota, searching
for the mother who abandoned him as a child. On a clear morning in the summer of 1997, Shane Stephenson
arrives in Holm, Minnesota, with only a few changes of
clothes, an old Nintendo, and a few dollars to his name.
Reeling from the death of his father, Shane wants to find
the mother who abandoned him as an adolescent—hoping to
reconnect, but also to better understand himself. Against
the backdrop of Minnesota’s rugged wilderness, and a town
littered with shuttered shops, graffiti, and crumbling
infrastructure, Holm feels wild and dangerous. Holm’s residents, too, are wary of outsiders, and Shane’s
long blonde hair and androgynous looks draw attention from a
violent and bigoted contingent in town, including the
unhinged Sven Svenson. He is drawn in by a group of
sympathetic friends in their teens and early twenties, all
similarly lost and frequent drug users: the reckless,
charming J and his girlfriend Mary; Jenny, a brilliant and
beautiful artist who dreams of escaping Holm; and the
mysterious loner Russell, with whom Shane, against his
better judgment, feels a strange attraction. As Sven’s
threats of violence escalate, Shane is forced to choose
between his search for his mother, the first true
friendships he’s ever had, and a desire to leave both his
past and present behind entirely. At its core, Northern Lights is the story of a son
searching for his mother, and for a connection with her,
dealing with issues of abandonment and forgiveness. But it
also addresses the complications, tensions, and dysfunction
that can exist in those relationships, presenting an
unforgettable world and experience often overlooked, with a
new kind of hero to admire.
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