How to Set a Fire and Why

"Ball has created a voice that echoes the beloved narrators of J. D. Salinger and John Green. . . . With her tragic past, brilliant mind and subversive potential, Lucia could be thought of as a young Lisbeth Salander, or a high-IQ, antiheroic Katniss Everdeen, but with a better sense of humor." --Newsday

Lucia Stanton's father is dead, her mother is in a mental hospital, and she's recently been kicked out of school--again. Living with her aunt in a garage-turned-bedroom, and armed with only a book, a Zippo lighter, and a pocketful of stolen licorice, she spends her days riding the bus to visit her mom and following the only rule that makes any sense: Don't do things you aren't proud of.

When Lucia discovers that her school has a secret Arson Club, her life is suddenly lit up; she'll do anything to join. Edgy, raw, and hilarious, How to Set a Fire and Why is a thrilling story about growing up the hard way.

Author: Jesse Ball
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 06/13/2017
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781101911754
ISBN10: 1101911751
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Literary
- Fiction | Coming of Age
- Fiction | Psychological

About the Author
JESSE BALL (1978- ). Born in New York. The author of fourteen books, most recently the novel How to Set a Fire and Why. His works have been published to acclaim in many parts of the world and translated into more than a dozen languages. He is on the faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, won the 2008 Paris Review Plimpton Prize, was long-listed for the National Book Award, and has been a fellow of the NEA, Creative Capital, and the Guggenheim Foundation.