Saints of the Household
Written by Ari Tison
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down.
But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, instinct takes over and they intervene, breaking up a fight and beating their high school’s star soccer player to a pulp. This act of violence threatens the brothers’ dreams for the future and their beliefs about who they are. As the true details of that fateful afternoon unfold over the course of the novel, Max and Jay grapple with the weight of their actions, their shifting relationship as brothers, and the realization that they may be more like their father than they thought. They’ll have to reach back to their Bribri roots to find their way forward.
Told in alternating points of view using vignettes and poems, debut author Ari Tison crafts an emotional, slow-burning drama about brotherhood, abuse, recovery, and doing the right thing.
Primary ISBN: 9780374389499
Publication Date: March 2023
Available As: Hardcover, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult, Age 14 or older
Community Represented: Bribri/Bribri American, Costa Rican/Costa Rican American
Themes: Audiobook, Coming of Age, Cross-Group Friendship, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Identity, Family Relationship: Parents, Family Relationship: Siblings, Generation: 1st, Genre: Poetry, Multilingual Character, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Trauma & Healing, Trauma & Healing: Physical Assault
Setting: United States (Minnesota)
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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