The Shark Curtain
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
The Shark Curtain
By (Author) Chris Scofield
Akashic Books,U.S.
Akashic Books,U.S.
21st May 2015
United States
Classifications
Young Adult
Fiction
813.6
Physical Properties
Paperback
320
Width 152mm, Height 229mm
383g
Description
Set against the changing terrain of middle-class values and the siren calls of art and puberty, THE SHARK CURTAIN invites readers into Lily Asher's wonderful, terrible world. The older of two girls growing up in suburban Portland, Oregon, in the mid-1960s, her inner life stands in quirky contrast to the loving but dysfunctional world around her.
Reviews
The Shark Curtain is a full-on adventure tale of the best kind. The heroine, Lily Asher, is a 'weirdo'--a sweet, troubled, creative teenager who lives life through the lens of her hyperimagination. Regularly visited by the ghost of her dead dog as well as a tedious and melancholy Jesus, Lily struggles with her own bizarre behavior, puberty, and love for her dysfunctional family. The Ashers are going through what we all went through in the 1960s: the Vietnam War, race riots, the white patriarchy, bullies, death, and too much Valium. It's Lily's unusual voice that brings the story all together. Chris Scofield's The Shark Curtain is a shout-out to all us grrrrrls. Hooray!
--Tom Spanbauer, founder of Dangerous Writing
You've never met anyone like The Shark Curtain's Lily Asher. With Jesus as her smart-aleck companion, a dead dog as her guide, a sister who thinks she's a 'weirdo, ' and parents absorbed in their own drama, Lily leads you wildly through her imagination, her dreams, and the crazy roller coaster of her teenage years. With deep wit and endless invention, Chris Scofield has created a girl--and a story--unlike any other. Read this book and experience its wonder.
--Miriam Gershow, author of The Local News
In The Shark Curtain, Chris Scofield offers us a rare pleasure: a startling and original heroine, Lily Asher, whose quest to understand and experience the world around her is second only to her journey inward, where she grapples with a menagerie of family members, animals, historical and religious figures, and pop cultural icons in a series of both real and imaginary encounters. These twisted and sometimes absurd relationships allow Lily to grasp fleeting and brilliant truths about the human condition, the problem of death, what it means to be 'crazy, ' what it means to be 'normal, ' and our very real need for love and acceptance, no matter who we are.
--J.L. Powers, author of This Thing Called the Future
The Shark Curtain is a full-on adventure tale of the best kind. The heroine, Lily Asher, is a 'weirdo'--a sweet, troubled, creative teenager who lives life through the lens of her hyperimagination. Regularly visited by the ghost of her dead dog as well as a tedious and melancholy Jesus, Lily struggles with her own bizarre behavior, puberty, and love for her dysfunctional family. The Ashers are going through what we all went through in the 1960s: the Vietnam War, race riots, the white patriarchy, bullies, death, and too much Valium. It's Lily's unusual voice that brings the story all together. Chris Scofield's The Shark Curtain is a shout-out to all us grrrrrls. Hooray!
--Tom Spanbauer, founder of Dangerous Writing
You've never met anyone like The Shark Curtain's Lily Asher. With Jesus as her smart-aleck companion, a dead dog as her guide, a sister who thinks she's a 'weirdo, ' and parents absorbed in their own drama, Lily leads you wildly through her imagination, her dreams, and the crazy roller coaster of her teenage years. With deep wit and endless invention, Chris Scofield has created a girl--and a story--unlike any other. Read this book and experience its wonder.
--Miriam Gershow, author of The Local News
In The Shark Curtain, Chris Scofield offers us a rare pleasure: a startling and original heroine, Lily Asher, whose quest to understand and experience the world around her is second only to her journey inward, where she grapples with a menagerie of family members, animals, historical and religious figures, and pop cultural icons in a series of both real and imaginary encounters. These twisted and sometimes absurd relationships allow Lily to grasp fleeting and brilliant truths about the human condition, the problem of death, what it means to be 'crazy, ' what it means to be 'normal, ' and our very real need for love and acceptance, no matter who we are.
--J.L. Powers, author of This Thing Called the Future
Author Bio
Chris Scofield is a novelist and short story writer. She's worked with authors Ursula K. Le Guin and Tom Spanbauer and is a former special education, art, and preschool teacher. Scofield studies cello, travels internationally, and lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her husband and two goldfish. She is the author of The Shark Curtain.
