Green

Reviews

“A comically geeky coming-of-age story that brims with anxiety, resentment, and a surplus of compassion . . . a riot of language that’s part hip-hop, part nerd boy, and part pure imagination . . . Green earns . . . a spot on the continuum of vernacular in the American literary tradition, from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to The Catcher in the Rye.”—The Boston Globe

“Prickly and compelling . . . [Sam] Graham-Felsen lets boys be boys: messy-brained, impulsive, goatish, self-centered, outwardly gutsy but often inwardly terrified.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“A coming-of-age tale of uncommon sweetness and feeling.”—The New Yorker

“A fierce and brilliant book, comic, poignant, perfectly observed, and blazing with all the urgent fears and longings of adolescence.”—Helen Macdonald, author of H Is for Hawk

“A heartfelt and unassumingly ambitious book.”—Slate

“Sam Graham-Felsen achieves an extraordinary balancing act, creating a poignant and convincing coming-of-age story while at the same time reflecting much larger themes about race and the country’s changing social landscape.”—Jewish Book Council

“Wry and moving.”—Shelf Awareness

“One of the most original voices you’ll read this year.”—Southern Living

“Superb . . . a memorable first novel . . . [Green is replete with] wonderful characters, fully realized and multidimensional.”—Booklist (starred review)

“[Green] poignantly captures the tumultuous feelings of adolescence against the historical backdrop of a racially segregated city and country.”—Library Journal

“[A] subtly humorous, surprisingly touching coming-of-age narrative . . . a memorable and moving portrayal of a complicated but deep friendship that just might survive the weight placed on it.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Astounding . . . I’ve rarely seen an author nail a time and a place with such gorgeous accuracy and heartbreaking hilarity. The strength of Sam Graham-Felsen’s voice can lift up entire worlds.”—Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story

“Though it raises serious questions about race and inequality with a poignancy that took me aback, Green is also funny and beautifully written, with not a word out of place, and somehow managing to be both true to its young narrator’s voice and bracingly intelligent in its depiction of a brutal societal impasse. I enjoyed this more than anything else I’ve read in ages.”—Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.

“Sam Graham-Felsen has pioneered a new genre: free-stylin’ social realism. If Balzac were a hip-hop artist, he might have produced a novel like Green.”—Heidi Julavits, author The Folded Clock Expand reviews