{"product_id":"steplings-9780875655086","title":"Steplings","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Cw Smith\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Texas Christian University Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Texas Christian University Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Coming of Age\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the Back Cover\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eSteplings\u003c\/i\u003e is a tender and deeply touching story that deftly unwinds the tale of an endearing young man's coming-of-age and first love with such pitch-perfect dialogue and engrossing plot that its characters that leap off of the page and into your heart. Steplings is a novel as timeless as it is unforgettable. Sarah Bird, author of \u003ci\u003eHow Perfect Is That\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Yokota Officers' Club\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Gap Year\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\"With \u003ci\u003eSteplings\u003c\/i\u003e, Charlie Smith has flawlessly captured the experience of being young, misunderstood, and full of longing. He manages to craft a tale that is at once gorgeously heartbreaking and a page-turning adventure. His ear for dialogue and lyrical prose are irresistible, as are his complex, loveable Jason and Emily--these aren't characters in a novel, they're people I know. Smith has accomplished that rarest of literary feats: to leave the reader on the final page equal parts exhilarated at having finished a gripping work of fiction, and forlorn at not being able to spend more time in the world he crafted.\" Melissa Kirsch, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Lordy, \u003ci\u003eSteplings\u003c\/i\u003e is a novel you read with increasing awe and dread, for C.W. Smith, page by page by artful page, is laying bare the illusions by which the American family sustains--and deceives--itself. In the matters of romantic love, marriage, community, school, class, and work, we're in peril, not least from our benighted yearnings for grace and harmony. Mr. Smith has used his great compassion and his enviable gifts as a storyteller without peer to detail what so animated Updike in the Rabbit series of novels: our innocence and our sentimentality for what never was. You won't read a more achingly beautiful book this season.\" Lee K. Abbott, author of \u003ci\u003eAll Things, All at Once: New \u0026amp; Selected Stories\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eSteplings\u003c\/i\u003e touches our hearts with the struggles and failures that are a part of finding our way, whatever our age. With both sensitivity and a strong narrative thrust, the book portrays the tugs between generations, couples, and, most especially those conflicts within ourselves as we come into adulthood, which often takes an entire lifetime. C.W. Smith's deftly written book is compelling on many levels.\" Kate Lehrer is winner of the Western Heritage Award. Her latest novel is \u003ci\u003eConfessions of a Bigamist\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\"Launched with scenes and exchanges of dialogue that are laugh-out-loud funny, C.W. Smith's \u003ci\u003eSteplings\u003c\/i\u003e maintains the rare wit but sobers up in a hurry. A nineteen-year-old boy, grieving over a first love's broken heart, and his eleven-year-old stepsister, yearning for her prior home and family, take off hitchhiking in the middle of the night and share an adventure that is hair-raising, tender, and wise. Here is an accomplished novelist at the top of his game.\" Jan Reid, author of \u003ci\u003eComanche Sundown\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Bullet Meant for Me\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e ","brand":"Texas Christian University Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45116891988119,"sku":"9780875655086","price":1675.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780875655086.webp?v=1767272209","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/steplings-9780875655086","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}