The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

Inspired by a real event in which a mothers twisted love led to a horrific result, this is the story of the young girl who survived the tragedy and her struggle to come to terms with the accident itself, all the questions it suddenly raised about her family, and her own identity. When Rachels mother takes her own life and the rest of her children by throwing them off a Chicago rooftop, Rachel as the sole survivor has to make a life and a history on her own. She settles in with her grandmother in a racially divided city. There, she is forced to swallow her grief and at the same time confront her own mixed race heritage, and to understand how the tragedy of her past might be borne from her very identity. This is both the story of how Rachel comes to terms with a history that is unfathomable and an identity that raises more questions than answers. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky is the winner of the 2008 Bellwether Prize for a fiction manuscript that best addresses issues of social justice. As Barbara Kingsolver said upon granting the award, We always hope for a winner that perfectly embodies the standards and hopes of this endeavor: strong writing, a compelling voice, and clear moral vision. In this years winner we have that and much more. The story is heart-wrenching and its issues could not be more timely. nbsp

Author: Heidi W. Durrow

Language: English

Edition: 1

Binding: Hardcover

Pages: 256

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Publication Date: 2010-01-11