In the Wild Light

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times • Buzzfeed • Kirkus Reviews • Publishers Weekly • Chicago Public Library

“Redefines friendship as something that must be protected, sacrificed for, and tended to with wisdom, patience, and love.” —Ocean Vuong, New York Times bestselling author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

A poignant coming-of-age novel about two best friends whose friendship is tested when they get the opportunity to leave their impoverished small town for an elite prep school. For fans of Looking for Alaska.

Life in a small Appalachian town is not easy. Cash lost his mother to an opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend, Delaney, is second nature. He's been spending his summer mowing lawns while she works at Dairy Queen. But when Delaney manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he has to leave behind. Jeff Zentner's new novel is a beautiful examination of grief, found family, and young love.

JEFF ZENTNER is the author of New York Times Notable Book The Serpent King, Goodbye Days, Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee, and In the Wild Light. He has won the William C. Morris Award, Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, International Literacy Association Award, Westchester Fiction Award, been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and UKLA and was a finalist for the Southern Book Prize and Indies Choice Award. He was a Publishers Weekly Flying Start and an Indies Introduce pick. Before becoming a writer, he was a musician who recorded with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave and Debbie Harry. He lives in Nashville with his wife and son. You can visit him online at jeffzentnerbooks.com and on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.