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Henson

Wrecked

Appearance Date: 10/29/2022

Looking for Alaska meets Breaking Bad in this piercing novel about three teens, caught in the middle of the opioid crisis in rural Appalachia, whose world literally blows up around them.

For as long as Miri can remember it’s been her and her dad, Poe, in Paradise—what Poe calls their home, hidden away from prying eyes in rural Kentucky. It’s not like Miri doesn’t know what her dad does or why people call him “the Wizard.” It’s not like she doesn’t know why Clay, her one friend and Poe’s right-hand man, patrols the grounds with a machine gun. It’s nothing new, but lately Paradise has started to feel more like a prison. Enter Fen. The new kid in town could prove to be exactly the distraction Miri needs…but nothing is ever simple. Poe doesn’t take kindly to strangers. Fen’s DEA agent father is a little too interested in Miri’s family. And Clay isn’t satisfied with being just friends with Miri anymore. But what’s past is prologue—it’s what will follow that will wreck everything. Shining a klieg light on the opioid crisis coursing through this country, Wrecked will have readers on the edge of their seat right up until the explosive ending.

About the Author

Heather Henson was born and raised in Danville, Kentucky, and grew up at Pioneer Playhouse, Kentucky’s oldest outdoor theatre, which her father founded in 1950. Now managing director of this historic 73 year-old theatre, she is also the author of several award-winning and critically acclaimed books for young readers, including That Book Woman, illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winner David Small, and Lift Your Light a Little Higher: The Story of Stephen Bishop, Slave-Explorer, illustrated by Caldecott Medal-Medal honoree Bryan Collier. Her latest book is Wrecked, a gritty YA novel set in rural Kentucky with drugs and addiction as the backdrop. The novel was inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Heather Henson