Are you a fan of dark, gritty contemporary novels that are so beautifully written they make your insides ache? What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson fits the bill perfectly. Pick up this beautiful and brutal book and meet Jack and Ava as they struggle to survive an impossible situation. And if you want to learn more about this stunning debut novel, check out this Q&A with author Cory Anderson! This is your debut novel. What books or authors made you want to become a writer? From an early age, I loved books. My family often visited the library, where I discovered White Fang. Within its pages I learned about love, and the power of kindness. I read all the time. By seventh grade I was writing. For years, I underlined and dog-eared the pages of books, picking scenes and phrases apart until I could decently put them together again. Over time, I cultivated a writing style. Chief among them is my love of simple and stark prose, which I attribute to Cormac McCarthy. The Road captivated me for years—and forever, I guess. There are too many young adult authors to mention, but I’m compelled to bring up Laurie Halse Anderson, Madeleine L’Engle, and Markus Zusak. What Beauty There Is is told from two points of view. Was this always the case? Did one character come to you first? My inspiration for the points of view was sparked by Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. I loved how Death narrated the novel and had the idea that Ava’s voice could work similarly. She could tell Jack’s story as one who sees everything that happens, giving us even more insight into the themes woven throughout the book. Mostly I just started writing Ava, and then the moments with Jack arrived. Though it’s a story about survival, What Beauty There Is is ultimately a hopeful novel. What do you hope readers will take away from Jack and Ava’s stories? In the novel, our protagonists risk their lives to face threats destroying their worlds. Jack confronts criminals to protect his brother, and Ava challenges a controlling father to write her own story. The odds are bleak, haunting, yet somehow hopeful: We see these kids taking care of each other, fighting for what matters. And hopefully it’s a beautiful story, written through a brutal world.

What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson

"A chilling footpath of love and loss."—Ruta Sepetys, #1 New York Times bestselling author Cory Anderson's stunning debut novel, What Beauty There Is, tells the story of broken people trying to survive. This beautiful and brutal story is perfect for fans of Patrick Ness, Laura Ruby, and Meg Rosoff. Living in harsh poverty, Jack Dahl is holding his breath. He and his younger brother have nothing—except each other. And now Jack faces a stark choice: lose his brother to foster care or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money. Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years her father, a merciless man, has controlled her fate. He has taught her to love no one. Now Victor Bardem is stalking the same money as Jack. When he picks up on Jack’s trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or speak, and help the brothers survive.