A Map of the Known World

Cora Bradley dreams of escape. Ever since her reckless older brother, Nate, died in a car crash, Cora has felt suffocated by her small town and high school. She seeks solace in drawing beautiful maps, envisioning herself in exotic locales. When Cora begins to fall for Damian, the handsome, brooding boy who was in the car with Nate the night he died, she uncovers her brother's secret artistic life and realizes she had more in common with him than she ever imagined. With beautiful lyricism, Sandell weaves a tale of one girl's journey through the redemptive powers of art, friendship, and love.

Lisa Ann Sandell studies sculpture, is re-learning to play the trumpet, and, like Cora. has always found art and writing to be a driving force in her live. She is the author of The Weight of the Sky, which was named one of the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age, and Song of the Sparrow, which was a BookSense Summer 2007 pick and which Publishers Weekly called "unique and eloquently wrought" in a starred review. Lisa works as a children's books editor and lives in New York City with her husband, the author Liel Leibovitz, and their dog, Molly.