Reappearance of Sam Webber (Hardcover). This item is unavailable.Reappearance of Sam Webber (Hardcover)

When eleven-year-old Sam Webber's father disappears without a trace, he and his mother are forced to relocate to a tough neighborhood, closer to her job. Unfamiliar with his surroundings and intimidated by the students of his new school, Sam recounts the sometimes frightening, sometimes delightful details of his life with touching, humorous sincerity. Living in a tiny apartment, he is forced to deal with the legacy of depression that marked his father, and threatens to envelop him. The city remains a cold and unwelcoming place to Sam until he meets Greely, an elderly black janitor at his junior high. Through this unlikely friendship, Sam begins to heal, as well as confront the racism that surrounds his community, and his life. Tracing a year in the life of an exceptional young boy, newcomer Jonathon Scott Fuqua leaves an impression that endures like a watermark. A masterfully written novel full of beautifully drawn, unforgettable characters, The Reappearance of Sam Webber is only the first from a top writer whose talented storytelling will touch every reader.

Jonathon Scott Fuqua was born outside Frankfurt, Germany, and relocated eleven times before he was fourteen, finally settling with his family in Norfolk, Virginia. It wasn’t until his sophomore year at the College of William and Mary that he found himself drawn toward literature. Since then, he’s written nine stellar novels. Darby was recommended on The Today Show, registering on top ten lists across the country. Catie & Josephine was one of Brodart’s top juvenile titles, lauded in papers from The Washington Post to The Sacramento Bee. The Willoughby Spit Wonder was praised as far away as New Zealand, King of the Pygmies was one of the best young adult novels of 2006, Gone and Back Again was extolled in Entertainment Weekly, adult novel In the Wake of the Boatman broke stunning new ground, and innovative graphic novel In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe was one of The Comic Buyers Guide’s “Favorite Original Graphic Novels.” Fuqua has received three Maryland State Arts Council Fiction Writing Awards. But it all started with his first novel: The Reappearance of Sam Webber. Originally titled In the Faded Light of Baltimore, The Reappearance of Sam Webber, about a boy thrust into an unfamiliar world, resonated with readers and critics around the country. The New York Public Library named it one of the Best Books for the Teen Age. The American Booksellers Association for Free Expression selected it as one of the two best novels dealing with issues of teen violence. School Library Journal, Library Journal, and Booklist Magazine placed it on their top lists, and it was even a British Book Choice for post-primary schools. And most impressively, The Reappearance of Sam Webber earned the prestigious Alex Award, presented by Booklist and the American Library Association to the “best ten adult books of the year for teenagers.” Jonathon Scott Fuqua’s brilliant career began with a brilliant novel, one that continues to resonate for anyone, young or old, trying to make their way. Today, Fuqua is one of the innovators of Narrative Ink, a brilliant organization designed to teach children to read by presenting the same story in graphic novel, novella, and novel form. He teaches art, another of his talents, while working on all sorts of new stories and concepts. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife, his daughter, and his son.