The Gospel of Winter | TheBookSeekers

The Gospel of Winter


School year: Lower 6th, Year 10, Year 11

No. of pages 304

Published: 2014

Great for age 12-18 years

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In a lyrical and hard-hitting exploration of betrayal and healing, the son of a Connecticut socialite comes to terms with his abuse at the hands of a beloved priest (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).As sixteen-year-old Aidan Donovans fractured family disintegrates around him, he searches for solace in a few bumps of Adderall, his fathers wet bar, and the attentions of his local priest, Father Gregthe only adult who actually listens to him. When Christmas hits, Aidans world collapses in a crisis of trust when he recognizes the darkness of Father Gregs affections. He turns to a crew of new friends to help make sense of his life: Josie, the girl he just might love; Sophie, whos a little wild; and Mark, the charismatic swim team captain whose own secret agonies converge with Aidans. The Gospel of Winter maps the ways love can be used as a weapon against the innocentbut can also, in the right hands, restore hope and even faith. Brendan Kielys unflinching and courageous debut novel exposes the damage from the secrets we keep and proves that in truth, there is power. And real love.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book is aimed at children at US 9th grade+.

This book has been graded for interest at 14-18 years.

There are 304 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster .

Brendan Kiely is the New York Times bestselling author of All American Boys (with Jason Reynolds), The Last True Love Story , and The Gospel of Winter. His work has been published in ten languages, received a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award, the Walter Dean Myers Award, the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, was twice awarded Best Fiction for Young Adults (2015, 2017) by the American Library Association, and was a Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014. Originally from the Boston area, he now lives with his wife in New York City.

 

This book has been nominated for the following award:

Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Ages 14+
This book was recognised in the Ages 14+ category by the Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens.

"'We live in a world of consequence and effect,' says the 16-year-old narrator of The Gospel of Winter, a book that will be as satisfying to literary readers as it will to young adults. This is a novel that captures the pulse of a contemporary wound, a truth that needs to be told about the shameful issue of abuse within our society. It is also a novel that examines the faultlines of love, family, adolesence, faith and belonging. Brendan Kiely has written a novel that is both unflinching and redemptive." -- Colum McCann, NYT Bestselling author and National Book Award winner for Let the Great World Spin

 

"Brendan Kiely's finely tuned debut accomplishes something rare--it pulls you into its main character's pain and truth without letting you forget how beautiful the world, and people, can really be. An emotional coming of age story that you won't soon forget." -- John Corey Whaley, Printz and Morris Award-winning author of Where Things Come Back

 

"The Gospel of Winter marks Brendan Kiely's auspicious debut as a novelist. Kiely deftly captures the difficulty of becoming oneself in a world filled with contradictions and mixed messages, artfully drawing us into the complex story of a young man's search for identity, for comfort, for faith. Aidan Donovan's struggle to find truth lives in all of us-his pain and hope are both resonant and transformative." -- A.M. Homes, author of May We Be Forgiven, winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction

 

"The Gospel of Winter comes to us in full flower, a rich, complex, wise, beautifully written novel and a compelling read." -- Frederic Tuten, author of Tintin in the New World

 

* "Kiely's impressive debut takes a controversial topic-sexual abuse in the Catholic Church-and addresses it head-on with sensitivity and finesse....Kiely hits his mark with a sickening portrayal of Father Greg and those who let his behavior continue. But it's the combination of Aidan's vulnerability, denial, and silent rage that makes the novel so distressingly vivid and real." * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *

 

* "In a lyrical and hard-hitting exploration of betrayal and healing, the son of a Connecticut socialite comes to terms with his abuse at the hands of a beloved priest. Each of Aidan's relationships is carefully and subtly drawn, revealed slowly through Aidan's elegant, pained and often circumspect narration. Often bleak, eventually hopeful and beautifully told." * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *

 

* "Kiely's gutsy debut addresses abuse in the Catholic Church. This is challenging, thought-provoking material, presented in beautiful prose, which explores the ways in which acts rendered in the name of love can both destroy and heal." * Booklist (starred review) *