Good-Bye and Keep Cold

Edda Combs is eight years old when her father is killed in a strip-mining accident. Her mother, Frances, loved Ed Combs passionately and now mourns him deeply. Time passes, but the family doesn't get over Ed's death; Frances refuses to marry Henry John, a man who initially wants to help the family because of his part in the accident that killed Ed, but who comes to genuinely love them all. In the years that follow, Edda and her family learn a terrible truth about Ed, an ugly secret that almost destroys Frances. But she has a core of strength, found in Edda, too, that allows her to finally give up the past and take the family forward. Set in eastern Kentucky and told from Edda's point of view, the moving and powerful story describes the coming of age of a young girl and her family. Edda, her younger brother Jimmy, her high-principled mother Frances and her great-uncle Banker are that rare breed of fictional character: thoughtful individuals with active inner lives. This exceptional first novel never talks down to its audience; serious and disturbing topics are tackled but never sensationalized. The simple, honest writing is generously spiked with phrases of startling beauty. Books like this have the power to show young readers just what it is that great fiction can do. A Richard Jackson Book. Ages 12-up. (September)