The Radius of Us

What happens when you fall in love with someone everyone seems determined to fear?

Ninety seconds can change a life -- not just daily routine, but who you are as a person. Gretchen Asher knows this, because that's how long a stranger held her body to the ground. When a car sped toward them and Gretchen's attacker told her to run, she recognized a surprising terror in his eyes. And now she doesn't even recognize herself.

Ninety seconds can change a life -- not just the place you live, but the person others think you are. Phoenix Flores Flores knows this, because months after setting off toward the U.S. / Mexico border in search of safety for his brother, he finally walked out of detention. But Phoenix didn't just trade a perilous barrio in El Salvador for a leafy suburb in Atlanta. He became that person -- the one his new neighbors crossed the street to avoid.

Ninety seconds can change a life -- so how will the ninety seconds of Gretchen and Phoenix's first encounter change theirs?

Told in alternating first person points of view, The Radius of Us is a story of love, sacrifice, and the journey from victim to survivor. It offers an intimate glimpse into the causes and devastating impact of Latino gang violence, both in the U.S. and in Central America, and explores the risks that victims take when they try to start over. Most importantly, Marie Marquardt's The Radius of Us shows how people struggling to overcome trauma can find healing in love.

Author: Marie Marquardt
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: 01/17/2017
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.80w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781250096890
Audience: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.7
Point Value: 12
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 199350 / Radius of Us


Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 12/01/2016
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2016
School Library Journal 12/01/2016 pg. 120
Booklist 12/01/2016 pg. 55
Voice of Youth Advocates 04/01/2017 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2017 pg. 137
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2017 pg. 137 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
MARIE MARQUARDT is a Scholar-in-Residence at Emory University's Candler School of Theology and author of Dream Things True. She has published articles and co-authored two non-fiction books about Latin American immigration to the U.S. South. Marie is co-chair of El Refugio, a non-profit that serves detained immigrants and their families, and a member of the We Need Diverse Books team. She lives in a busy household in Decatur, Georgia with her spouse, four children, a dog and a bearded dragon.


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