The Goldfinch

A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this "extraordinary" and beloved Pulitzer Prize winner from the author of The Secret History that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, New York Times Book Review).

Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by a longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into a wealthy and insular art community.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love -- and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention. From the streets of New York to the dark corners of the art underworld, this "soaring masterpiece" examines the devastating impact of grief and the ruthless machinations of fate (Ron Charles, Washington Post).

Author: Donna Tartt
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Published: 10/22/2013
Pages: 784
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.40lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.40w x 1.80d
ISBN: 9780316055437

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.6
Point Value: 49
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 165262 / Goldfinch


Award: National Book Critics Circle Award - Finalist
Award: ALA Notable Books - Winner
Award: Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence - Winner
Award: Pulitzer Prize - Winner
Award: Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction - Finalist


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 05/01/2013 pg. 59
Publishers Weekly 07/29/2013
Entertainment Weekly 08/02/2013 pg. 69
Kirkus Reviews Fall Preview 08/15/2013 pg. 16
Booklist 09/01/2013 pg. 38
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2013 pg. 26
Romantic Times 10/01/2013 pg. 46 - Excellent
People Weekly 09/23/2013 pg. 71
New York Times Book Review 10/13/2013 pg. 1
Entertainment Weekly 10/18/2013 pg. 70
New Yorker (The) 10/21/2013 pg. 100
New York Times Book Review 10/20/2013 pg. 26
People Weekly 10/28/2013 pg. 55
Kirkus Best Fiction 11/15/2013 pg. 37
Shelf Awareness 12/13/2013
NY Times Notable Bks of Year 12/08/2013 pg. 26
New York Times Book Review 12/15/2013 pg. 12
Entertainment Weekly 12/27/2013 pg. 101
New York Review of Books 01/09/2014 pg. 10
People Weekly 12/30/2013 pg. 56
Entertainment Weekly 01/24/2014 pg. 21
Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/01/2014 pg. 10
People Weekly 02/10/2014 pg. 59
Entertainment Weekly 03/21/2014 pg. 67
Christian Century 12/10/2014 pg. 26
BookPage 11/01/2013
Library Journal 05/01/2013

About the Author
Donna Tartt is the author of The Goldfinch, which was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Her novels The Secret History and The Little Friend have been translated into 30 languages. She was born in Greenwood, Mississippi and is a graduate of Bennington College.