Bitter (Paperback)
From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution -- and how youth lead the way.
Bitter is an aspiring artist who has been invited to cultivate her talents at a special school in the town of Lucille. Surrounded by other creative teens, she can focus on her painting -- though she hides a secret from everyone around her. Meanwhile, the streets of Lucille are filled with social unrest. This is Lucille before the Revolution. A place of darkness and injustice. A place where a few ruling elites control the fates of the many.
The young people of Lucille know they deserve better -- they aren't willing to settle for this world that the adults say is "just the way things are." They are protesting, leading a much-needed push for social change. But Bitter isn't sure where she belongs -- in the art studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the Revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: what are the costs?
Acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi looks at the power of youth, protest, and art in this timely and provocative novel, a companion to National Book Award Finalist Pet.
"The word hype was invented to describe books like this." --Refinery29
"[A] beautiful, genre-expanding debut... PET is a nesting doll of creative possibilities." --The New York Times
"Like [Madeleine] L'Engle, Akwaeke Emezi asks questions of good and evil and agency, all wrapped up in the terrifying and glorious spectacle of fantastical theology." --NPR
National Book Award Finalist
Target age group 13-17
Bitter is an aspiring artist who has been invited to cultivate her talents at a special school in the town of Lucille. Surrounded by other creative teens, she can focus on her painting -- though she hides a secret from everyone around her. Meanwhile, the streets of Lucille are filled with social unrest. This is Lucille before the Revolution. A place of darkness and injustice. A place where a few ruling elites control the fates of the many.
The young people of Lucille know they deserve better -- they aren't willing to settle for this world that the adults say is "just the way things are." They are protesting, leading a much-needed push for social change. But Bitter isn't sure where she belongs -- in the art studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the Revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: what are the costs?
Acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi looks at the power of youth, protest, and art in this timely and provocative novel, a companion to National Book Award Finalist Pet.
"The word hype was invented to describe books like this." --Refinery29
"[A] beautiful, genre-expanding debut... PET is a nesting doll of creative possibilities." --The New York Times
"Like [Madeleine] L'Engle, Akwaeke Emezi asks questions of good and evil and agency, all wrapped up in the terrifying and glorious spectacle of fantastical theology." --NPR
National Book Award Finalist
Target age group 13-17
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CategoryYoung Adult Fiction
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Age Group13 to 14 yrs
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Grade Level6+
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LanguageEnglish
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BindingPaperback
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Theme 1Social, Personal & Family Topics
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Theme 2Diversity & Mulitcultural
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Detailed (BISAC) Subject/ThemeArt
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Awards
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AuthorEmezi, Akwaeke
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Lexile Level820
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DeweyFiction
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PublisherRandom House, Inc.
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Publication Date7/18/2023
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Pages272
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Dimensions0.50 H × 8.25 L × 5.5 W
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Case Qty60
