{"product_id":"9781617755194","title":"The Year of Needy Girls","description":"\"Recalls both Hellman's \u003ci\u003eThe Children's Hour\u003c\/i\u003e and Lehane's \u003ci\u003eMystic River\u003c\/i\u003e in a story about murder and false accusations.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBay Area Reporter\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A tense story about a small town swept up in bigotry and paranoia after the brutal murder of a local boy sends the residents into a frenzied witch hunt…Smith’s crisp prose and dedication to realistic moral ambiguity make for a provoking read.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Smith’s first novel successfully builds tension and a sense of dread among the picture-perfect New England fall.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLibrary Journal XPress Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Smith shows us the power of fiction to fully describe the internal and external forces that set the scene for unfounded accusations...Smith deftly builds tension...Smith shows us both the damage that will be ongoing and the revelations and growth that can arise out of ugly times. This is something to remember for the times ahead.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLambda Literary\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Smith conveys the impact of this prejudicial hostility on two young women who are struggling to make their way in an intolerant world with a tender and delicate understanding in this nuanced tale of identity and misperception, connection and alienation.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist Online\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Well-written. The dynamics between the lesbian couple are quite compelling. Smith takes on several important issues, such as classism, racism, and bigotry.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Gay and Lesbian Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIncluded in \u003cb\u003eBookRiot\u003c\/b\u003e's list of 9 Small Press Books to Read in January 2017!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This well crafted novel stands out for a number of reasons--the nuanced descriptions of the characters’ complex feelings, the realistic portrayal of how quickly a person’s life and a community can fall into crisis, and the focus on two lesbians and the challenges they face.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eWorld Wide Work\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A recommended novel that explores small town bigotry.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShe Treads Softly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A tale of persecution where it shouldn't have happened...There are many people you can't trust. And it's hard to tell.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJourney of a Bookseller\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Smith is an artist of prose, utilizing her palette to create a complex landscape of anger and ignorance…Extremely relevant.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eThoughts on This n' That\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Year of Needy Girls\u003c\/i\u003e is a study in hypocrisy and small-town secrets. Patricia A. Smith’s contemporary witch hunt north of Boston is a collision of \u003ci\u003eThe Children’s Hour\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMystic River.\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eStewart O’Nan,\u003c\/b\u003e author of \u003ci\u003eSongs for the Missing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Year of Needy Girls\u003c\/i\u003e is as much about how fear can cloud our perceptions of both self and other as it is about the persistent search for love and home. Patricia A. Smith's vision is at once keen and generous.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Graver,\u003c\/b\u003e author of \u003ci\u003eThe End of the Point\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA young boy's murder unleashes chaos in the life of a schoolteacher and a small New England town.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBradley, Massachusetts is in many ways a typical small New England town, but a river divides it in half—on one side, the East End: crowded triple-deckers, the Most Precious Blood parish, and a Brazilian immigrant community; and on the other, the West End: renovated Victorians, Brandywine Academy, and families with last names as venerable as the \u003ci\u003eMayflower.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeirdre Murphy and her partner Sara Jane (SJ) Edmonds have just moved to their first house—and for the first time are open in their relationship—in the West End, where Deirdre teaches at Brandywine Academy. A dedicated teacher from a working-class background, she is well loved by her students. But the murder of ten-year-old Leo Rivera from the East End changes everything—for Deirdre and SJ, for the girls at Brandywine, and for all of Bradley. And when Deirdre is falsely accused of sexually molesting one of her students, the entire town erupts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Akashic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47139313549552,"sku":"9781617755194","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781617755194_p0.jpg?v=1769904939","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781617755194","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}