Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Abandoned by a single mother she never knew, 16-year-old Raya--obsessed with ancient myths--lives with her grandmother in a conservative Texas town. For years Raya has hidden her true feelings for her best friend and true love, Sarah. When the two are caught in an intimate moment, they are sent to a re-education camp meant to "fix" them and make them heterosexual. Upon arrival Raya vows to assume the mythic role of Orpheus, to save them both and to return them to the world of the living, at any cost.
In a haunting voice reminiscent of Sylvia Plath, Orpheus Girl is as much epic poem as it is a novel--a story of first love, heartbreak, family dysfunction, and adolescent resilience set in a tragic underworld of death and imprisonment.