Welcome to Zero City Baby
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Adjusting to the sweltering heat of the Mississippi Delta is the least of Teri's troubles. Dragged there by her mother's ill-advised search for career development, she must now drudge her way through a new school, the constant tension between her parents, and the duplicitous nature of teenagers and adults alike. But then she meets a strange boy at school, Nother Martin, and as their relationship develops she is drawn into a world of moonshine and roadhouses, fortune tellers and grizzled Blues legends. In contrast to her own tangled relationships, she finds comfort in Nother's strong family bonds and his roots in the depthless South. As Teri learns about bad behavior and untimely death, she discovers a better, wiser version of herself. "The mind of a smart teen girl is a universe that has attracted many writers, and David Racine's Teri is one of the best. A tightly woven and gorgeously written report from inside a unique person, by a writer who knows the world and doesn't allow it to lie."--Andrei Codrescu "A complex story line, well-developed characters, evocative descriptions, and quirky humor create an inviting read."-Library Journal "There is much to admire in Racine's treatment of character and setting."-Booklist "Racine's beautiful prose deftly handles these alternate narratives... [Teri's] perceptive voice adds depth and pathos to this modern-day bildungsroman."-Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Uprooted from her home in Baltimore, teenaged Teri moves to the Mississippi Delta with her mother, who is pursuing a new career in academic administration. Although her parents have recently separated, her father moves south as well, and the whole family shares a duplex Teri and her mother in one half and her father in the other. Navigating a new town and a markedly different culture isn't easy for Teri. While struggling to make new friends and manage her strained relationships with her parents, Teri meets Nother Martin, the son of Blues legend Crosscut Martin. They soon begin dating, and Teri escapes into Nother's world of blues music, roadhouse bars, and supportive family, from whom Teri learns how to appreciate the slow pace of Mississippi life and how to gracefully handle life's ups and downs. All of this is relayed via Teri's meticulous journal entries, which are balanced by a 3rd-person account of a police investigation into an act of vandalism. Racine's beautiful prose deftly handles these alternate narratives, and while Teri's portions are occasionally overly self-absorbed as you may expect from an angsty teenager her perceptive voice adds depth and pathos to this modern-day bildungsroman.
