Launching today! This story about labor and immigration, faith and questioning, the search for justice and the love of people who have very different visions of justice, has been banging around in my head and my computer for years. Now it’s an actual book out there in the world where people can read it. I hope that this story from another time of deep inequality and equally deep polarization may make some sense to readers today, and may offer some hope. 
Print or e-copies can be ordered now from the publishers here. E-copies are also available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online booksellers, and softcover copies should be available there soon. Like all other new authors, I’m hoping for folks willing to take time to write reviews to post on Goodreads or on bookselling sites. But most of all just hoping for people to read and think about this book.
…I love writing stories, but I find explaining and promoting them somewhat awkward, though I’ll get some practice in the months ahead. For now I’ll just quote Propertius Press’ launch announcement. (They are better at this than I am; also, as Mrs. Elton believed in Emma, it sounds slightly classier to repeat nice things other people said about your work than to say them yourself. Though I’m not sure this strategy actually endeared her to anyone…oh well.)
“This unique historical YA novel gently folds you in to the story with atmospheric, clearly crafted scenes where you will find yourself marching alongside the workers in the streets, eating sparse but lovingly prepared meals at the kitchen table, blanching in shock as the force of icy blasts from firehoses knocks them down, kneeling beside them in the cemetery as they bury loved ones who succumbed to the brutal forces of violence. This look from inside the historical events, as you watch 12-year-old Kassandra Leonhart struggle to help heal the breach between friends and family on both sides of the labor issue, will help you to confront your own conflicts. Because as Kass learns, we are never going to heal unless we listen to each other with genuine interest and curiosity. That doesn’t mean we give in to capitalists and bosses. It means we understand that people are at different places, they have different needs, and sometimes they simply need to eat. And our job as humans is to take care of each other, first and foremost.Because the struggle between labor and capitalism is just as real, just as relevant today, and the arguments on all sides must be addressed with as much genuine love and forthrightness as Kass tries to exhibit, while also being true to herself and her beliefs.
joannamichalhoyt.com 