The Runaways (Paperback)

The Runaways is a humorous, philosophical, pre-apocalyptic tale told from the perspective of Jolson H. Kawasaki, a thirteen-year-old, West Virginian visionary from a broken home who longs for a life away from the abhorrent horrors engendered by polite society.

Abandoned by his father, haunted by his mother's grief, and seething with his unquenchable desire for their mechanic's daughter, Addison Dixie, Jolson must confront his leviathan troubles as he plans to escape a life of poverty to lead an expedition west with his disciples, out of The Gray World and into a Paradise of Green.

Is he a prophet? Is he delusional? Does Addison feel the same kind of crazy? What starts as a simple effort to evade responsibility turns into the inheritance of it all as Jolson guided by fate and depended upon by many contends with himself, the natural world, and his diabolical opposite on his unforgettable journey toward becoming a man and perhaps something greater.

Born on January 12th, 1996, in Gwinnett County, Georgia, John Alexander Brooks is an award-winning Appalachian Fiction Writer who developed a profound passion for literature, music, and cinema while growing up on a farm in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. When he is not reading or writing, Brooks enjoys playing guitar, spending time with loved ones, and exploring the natural landscapes of Appalachia. Additionally, he has recently found a deep appreciation for the inscrutable beauty of the West, having spent two transformative summers exploring the Moab desert while living and working on a marina at Lake Powell, Utah. Driven to share his visions with the world, Brooks aspires to illuminate his readership one revelatory novel at a time.