Synopses & Reviews
"When I was seven I told my father that I wanted to grow up to be invisible." So begins this stunning debut novel.As a young woman of mixed race, Nellie Kincaid is about to encounter the strange, unsettling summer of her fifteenth year. Reeling from the recent separation of her parents, Nellie finds herself traveling to the family's lake house with only her father and her estranged cousin, leaving behind the life and the mother she is trying to forget.
Now, as she navigates the twists and turns of first love and shifting family loyalties, what has always been a warm, carefree time is suddenly filled with new tensions. As the summer progresses, Nellie moves toward a definition of self that encompasses all the aspects of her paradoxical -- yet truly American -- identity, only to find her family growing more divided with each passing day. Does her newfound identity require her to distance herself from those she loves?
With depth and compassion, Rachel M. Harper charts the remarkable, captivating journey of a hero-ine's first encounters with our vast and sometimes dangerous country. Not only is Brass Ankle Blues a story of a young woman's search for autonomy, it is also about the things that keep family together: loyalty, forgiveness, and love.
Review
"I enjoyed reading this remarkable first novel. A contemporary novel in the great traditions...American landscape, American character, American heroine...A mature, intelligent, eloquent, lyrical, insightful work. All the elements of fine writing."
-- Gayl Jones, author of The Healing and Corregidora
Review
"I enjoyed reading this remarkable first novel. A contemporary novel in the great traditions...American landscape, American character, American heroine...A mature, intelligent, eloquent, lyrical, insightful work. All the elements of fine writing."
-- Gayl Jones, author of The Healing and Corregidora
Review
"Not only will Rachel Hunter draw you in like a familiar friend, so will
Brass Ankle Blues."-- Kirsten Maggi, Community Relations Manager, Barnes & Noble in Glendale
Review
"Thoughtful"
-- Publisher's Weekly
Review
"Rachel M. Harper's fierce debut is a tender, passionate and moving read. A clear window onto a world rarely seen in contemporary fiction."
-- Shay Youngblood, author of Soul Kiss
Review
"Rachel M. Harper's fierce debut is a tender, passionate and moving read. A clear window onto a world rarely seen in contemporary fiction."
-- Shay Youngblood, author of Soul Kiss
Review
"I read this book in one sitting...At a time when the American literary scene is divided between angst-ridden "worthy" literature and chic lit, it's nice to read a book that tackles serious themes without making you want to reach for the Prozac."
-- Verbsap.com
Review
"It's undeniable that the classic narrative of the transformative summer cries out for a contemporary heroine like Nellie, and the family tensions, poignant discoveries, and richly evoked setting should help this find a broad audience."
-- Booklist
Review
"Poetic and lyrical, Rachel Harper's
Brass Ankle Blues has the spirit of contemporary fiction with the soul of the American classic."
-- John Schatzel, Community Relations Manager, Barnes & Noble in Santa Monica