Bryan Bliss – författare

In a single night—graduation night—Thomas has to decide: do what everyone has always expected of him, or forge an entirely new path? Bryan Bliss’s absorbing examination of one boy struggling with expectations and realities will appeal to readers of Sara Zarr and Chris Crutcher.

Thomas is supposed to leave for the Army in the morning. His father was Army. His brother, Jake, is Army—is a hero, even, with the medals to prove it. Everyone expects Thomas to follow in that fine tradition. But Jake came back from overseas a completely different person, and that has shaken Thomas’s certainty about his own future. And so when his long-estranged friend Mallory suggests one last night of adventure, Thomas takes her up on the distraction. Over the course of this single night, Thomas will lose, find, resolve, doubt, drive, explore, and leap off a bridge. He’ll also face the truth of his brother’s post-traumatic stress disorder and of his own courage. In Bryan Bliss’s deft hands, graduation night becomes a night to find yourself, to find each other, to find a path, and to know that you always have a place—and people—to come back to.

Abigail''s parents believed the world was going to end. And—of course—it didn''t. But they''ve lost everything anyway. And she must decide: does she still believe in them? Or is it time to believe in herself? Fans of Sara Zarr, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell will connect with this moving debut.

Abigail''s parents never should have made that first donation to that end-of-times preacher. Or the next, or the next. They shouldn''t have sold their house. Or packed Abigail and her twin brother, Aaron, into their old van to drive across the country to San Francisco, to be there for the "end of the world." Because now they''re living in their van. And Aaron is full of anger, disappearing to who-knows-where every night. Their family is falling apart. All Abigail wants is to hold them together, to get them back to the place where things were right.

But maybe it''s too big a task for one teenage girl. Bryan Bliss''s thoughtful debut novel is about losing everything—and about what you will do for the people you love.

National Book Award Longlist Title * Booklist Editors’ Choice * CYBILS Young Adult Fiction Finalist * Nerdy Book Club Award for Best Young Adult Fiction * Paste Magazine Best Book * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults

“A compelling and raw story.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[Bliss dares] his readers not only to see the depths of human complexity, but to care.”—Booklist (starred review)

Luke and Toby have always had each other’s backs. But then one choice—or maybe it is a series of choices—sets them down an irrevocable path.We’ll Fly Awayweaves together Luke and Toby’s senior year of high school with letters Luke writes to Toby later—from death row.

Best friends since childhood, Luke and Toby have dreamed of one thing: getting out of their dead-end town. Soon they finally will, riding the tails of Luke’s wrestling scholarship, never looking back. If they don’t drift apart first. If Toby’s abusive dad, or Luke’s unreliable mom, or anything else their complicated lives throw at them doesn’t get in the way.

Tense and emotional, this hard-hitting novel explores family abuse, sex, love, and friendship, and how far people will go to protect those they love. For fans of Jason Reynolds, Marieke Nijkamp, and NPR’s Serial podcast.

Praise for We’ll Fly Away:

"Bryan Bliss has written an empathetic and stirring novel about what it means to fight for the outcasts, the forgotten, and even the hated, reminding us that we all have worth. That we are all valuable."—Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

“A poignant story of loyalty, abuse, and poverty. . . . This compassionate and beautifully rendered novel packs an emotional punch.”—KirkusReviews (starred review)

“A smart, rugged, all-too-true story of friendship under fire. Believable characters and page-turning tension.”—Chris Crutcher, author of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

“This fast-paced read will have teens tearing through chapters to find out why Luke is in jail. . . . The conclusion will leave them devastated. This is [a] touching book about male friendship for fans of Jason Reynolds.”—School Library Journal

“The unshakable and unconditional bond between the young men is tested and proves true, a ray of light in the darkness of their stories.”—VOYA