No Book but the World

" A gripping, morally complex novel that asks: How much do grown siblings owe one another? At the edge of a woods, on the grounds of a defunct "free school," Ava and her brother, Fred, shared a dreamy and seemingly idyllic childhood-a world defined largely by their imaginations and the presence of each other. Decades later, then, when Ava learns that her brother is being held in a county jail for a shocking crime, she is frantic to piece together what actually happened. Fred has always been different, certainly impaired, never evaluated. Their parents frowned upon labels and diagnoses as much as they did formal instruction and societal constraints. Now, however, the parents are gone, the siblings grown apart, a boy is dead and Fred in jail, and Ava is forced to wonder: is it her job to save her brother? What is our obligation to those we love-and to those we find difficult to love? Convinced that she alone will be able to reach him and explain his innocence to the world, Ava endeavors to tell their enthralling story. Leah Hager Cohen brings her trademark intelligence and grace to a rich, morally ambiguous story that suggests we may ultimately fathom one another best not with facts alone, but through our imaginations. "--