Zora & Me

Whether she’s telling the truth or stretching it, Zora Neale Hurston is a riveting storyteller. Her latest creation is a shape-shifting gator man who lurks in the marshes, waiting to steal human souls. But when boastful Sonny Wrapped loses a wrestling match with an elusive alligator named Ghost — and a man is found murdered by the railroad tracks soon after — young Zora’s tales of a mythical evil creature take on an ominous and far more complicated complexion, jeopardizing the peace and security of an entire town and forcing three children to come to terms with the dual-edged power of pretending. Zora’s best friend, Carrie, narrates this coming-of-age story set in the Eden-like town of Eatonville, Florida, where justice isn’t merely an exercise in retribution, but a testimony to the power of community, love, and pride. A fictionalization of the early years of a literary giant, this astonishing novel is the first project ever to be endorsed by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust that was not authored by Hurston herself.

"Fradin continues his tradition of writing superbly researched biographies."and#8212;VOYA, 4Q 3P M J

"Zora Neale Hurston and her times come alive in this introduction for young readers."and#8212;Kirkus

"Zora's creative, hopeful, and complicated personality shines through this compelling profile."and#8212;Publishers Weekly

"The writing is straightforward and engaging, and the numerous archival photographs and reproductions add interest and clarification."and#8212;School Library Journal

"[An] engaging account of Hurston's life . . . this well-documented biography is pleasurable reading as well as informative."and#8212;Horn Book

"[Zora!] features the humor and heartache of the life of a brilliant but largely underappreciated writer who only became really well known after her death."and#8212;Bulletin

As a young woman, Hurston lived and wrote alongside such prominent authors as

Langston Hughes and Alain Locke during the Harlem Renaissance. But unfortunately,

despite writing the luminary work Their Eyes Were Watching God, she was always short

of money. Though she took odd jobs as a housemaid and as the personal assistant to

an actress, Zora often found herself in abject poverty. Through it all, Zora kept writing.

And though none of her books sold more than a thousand copies while she was alive,

she was rediscovered a decade later by a new generation of readers, who knew they

had found an important voice of American Literature.