by Joe Randazzo
First published 2010
David Hall carries his father's map and a dying man's final wish. The young mixed-race man sets out to walk across America, tracing the exact path his father and grandfather took before him. Each step should move him forward, but time begins to bend around David's journey. The country his ancestors walked through bleeds into the present. Past and present crash together as David discovers that the America they experienced still exists, waiting for him. He meets strangers who challenge him, finds clever solutions to problems that block his way, and searches for answers about who he really is. The map guides him through more than geography. David must navigate a landscape where history refuses to stay buried. His irreverent voice and sharp observations reveal truths about the road, the people he encounters, and himself. The walk becomes a collision between what was, what is, and what David thought he knew about his own story.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, adventure, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, journey
Setting: America
Period: Present Day
310 pages · Paperback · WordSmiths Books