Out of Darkness

A Michael L. Printz Honor Book

"This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?"

New London, Texas. 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive.

Ashley Hope Pérez takes the facts of the 1937 New London school explosion--the worst school disaster in American history--as a backdrop for a riveting novel about segregation, love, family, and the forces that destroy people.

"[This] layered tale of color lines, love and struggle in an East Texas oil town is a pit-in-the-stomach family drama that goes down like it should, with pain and fascination, like a mix of sugary medicine and artisanal moonshine."--The New York Times Book Review

"Pérez deftly weaves [an] unflinchingly intense narrative....A powerful, layered tale of forbidden love in times of unrelenting racism."?starred, Kirkus Reviews

"This book presents a range of human nature, from kindness and love to acts of racial and sexual violence. The work resonates with fear, hope, love, and the importance of memory....Set against the backdrop of an actual historical event, Pérez...gives voice to many long-omitted facets of U.S. history."?starred, School Library Journal

Author: Ashley Hope Pérez
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab (R)
Published: 09/01/2015
Pages: 408
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.6lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.30w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9781467742023
Audience: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.6
Point Value: 15
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 178200 / Out of Darkness


Award: Tayshas Reading - Highly Commended
Award: Michael L. Printz Award - Honor Book


Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 06/01/2015 pg. 128
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2015
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2015 pg. 68
Booklist 09/01/2015 pg. 108
New York Times Book Review 11/08/2015 pg. 32
Kirkus Best Young-Adult Books 12/01/2015 pg. 65

About the Author
Pérez, Ashley Hope: - Ashley Hope Pérez is the author of the YA novels Out of Darkness (Carolrhoda Lab, 2015), The Knife and the Butterfly (Carolrhoda Lab, 2012), and What Can't Wait (Carolrhoda Lab, 2011). Her debut novel What Can't Wait won a spot on the 2012 YALSA Best Fiction for YA list, and The Knife and the Butterfly was included in the 2015 YALSA Popular Paperbacks list. Ashley grew up in Texas and taught high school in Houston before pursuing a PhD in comparative literature. She is now a visiting assistant professor of comparative studies at The Ohio State University and spends most of her time reading, writing, and teaching on topics from global youth narratives to Latin American and Latina/o fiction. She lives in Ohio with her husband, Arnulfo, and their son, Liam Miguel. Visit her online at http: //www.ashleyperez.com/.