“Kingsolver is a writer who can help us understand and navigate the chaos of these times.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune From the New York Times bestselling author of Unsheltered and Flight Behavior; a brilliant novel which enthralls; compels; and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity. “Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out; win or lose.” Demon Copperhead is set in the mountains of southern Appalachia. It’s the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer; with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair; a caustic wit; and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath; relayed in his own unsparing voice; he braves the modern perils of foster care; child labor; derelict schools; athletic success; addiction; disastrous loves; and crushing losses. Through all of it; he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago; Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel; but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South; Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion; and above all; his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys; and all those born into beautiful; cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.