Only a generation removed from being Pennsylvania potato farmers, property developers Gottfried and Marla Hemmings now sit atop a seven-figure bank account wealth they’ve declined to pass on to their adult children or teenage grandchildren.
‘Because we want them to thrive,’ Marla always says. What does thriving look like? Like carrying a snow shovel everywhere. Like selling pot from a fast-food drive-thru window. Like a first-class ticket to Jamaica between cancer treatments. Like a flea circus in a trailer. Like the GPS coordinates to a mound of dirt in a New Jersey forest.
As the rot beneath the surface of the Hemmings’ suburban respectability begins to spread, the far-flung grandchildren gradually find their ways back to one another, just in time to uncover the terrible cost of maintaining the family name. With her inimitable surrealism and insight into the teenage experience, YA master A.S. King explores how a corrosive culture of polite, affluent white supremacy tears a family apart and how one determined generation can save themselves.
About the Author
A. S. King is the award-winning author of nine acclaimed YA novels. Please Ignore Vera Dietz earned a 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor and Ask the Passengers won the 2013 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. King lives with her family in Pennsylvania, where she returned after a decade in Ireland living off the land and teaching adult literacy.
Industry Reviews
'One of the best YA writers working today.' * John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars *
'Maybe there are writers more adept than King at capturing the outrageous and outraged voice of teenagers, but it's difficult to think of one.' * New York Times *
'A.S. King challenges readers from the first page to the last. Dig will make you question the confines of your comfort zone-if you have one. An incredible addition to an already impressive body of work.' * Erin Entrada Kelly, New York Times bestselling author and Newbery medallist *
'This visceral examination of humanity's flaws and complexity...cultivates hope in a younger generation that's wiser and stronger than its predecessors.' * Booklist (starred review) *
'[This] strange and heart-wrenching tale is stunningly original.' * Kirkus Reviews *
'Profound...Offers hope that at least some of these characters will dig themselves out from under the legacy of hate they have unwillingly inherited.' * Publishers Weekly *
'Brutally candid, Dig is well worth the intellectual and emotional investment.' * Shelf Awareness *
'Dig represents the counter-intuitiveness of the best of the YA genre in being an ingeniously choreographed cautionary tale for all ages.' * ReadPlus *
'As with all her stories, there is an ethereal thread running through Dig that jabs at the reader with its honesty and dares you not to believe the magic of life...King gives a voice to the voiceless while at the same time encouraging such characters to speak for themselves.' * Nadia King *
'The delightful surrealism and masterful storytelling make this an unforgettable read that will linger long.' * School Library Journal *
