The Year of the Sawdust Man

Author's Bio:

Alexandria LaFaye loves to stargaze from any location, envies people who have time for picnics, and wishes the Crocked Gator Café was just down the street from her house. The Year of the Sawdust Man was her first book, and she has also continued Nissa’s story in Nissa's Place and The Strength of Saints. Worth won the Scott O’Dell Award in 2005. Alexandria teaches at low residency MFA programs in writing for children at Hamline University and Hollins University. An avid hat-wearer who moves around a lot, she believes that home is where you hang your hat. You can visit her online home at www.alafaye.com.

Quotes:

“Prepare yourself for feisty eleven-year-old Nissa Bergen because she and her wayward mother, abandoned father, and the gossipy denizens of small-town Louisiana are about to invade your heart in a first novel that is entirely engaging, touching, and unfailingly entertaining. Alexandria LaFaye is a writer to welcome—and cherish.” Robert Cormier, author of The Chocolate War

“I read The Year of the Sawdust Man with the same sense of joy and wonder I felt many years ago when I finished a review copy of a first novel by an unknown author: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.” Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Woman of Independent Means

“A bittersweet, moving debut. . . . Beautifully written.” Publishers Weekly, (starred)