Julia Watts
NEEDLWORK
ABOUT THE BOOK
In rural Kentucky, a sixteen-year-old boy with a love of quilting, cooking and Dolly Parton helps his grandma care for his opioid-addicted mother, until the discovery of a family secret upends everything he has ever believed. While other sixteen-year-old boys in Morgan, Kentucky, love hunting and football, Kody prefers to spend his time quilting with his grandmother ("Nanny"), watching Golden Girls reruns, and listening to old Dolly Parton albums. Nanny is Kody's main caregiver, but it takes both Nanny and Kody to take care of Kody's mother, whose drug problem is spinning out of control. Between looking after Mommy and trying to survive in a place that doesn't look kindly on feminine boys, Kody already has a hard time making sense of his life. But then he uncovers a family secret that will change everything in his life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia Watts is the author of thirteen novels for adults and young adults, all published by independent presses. Her books, which are set in Appalachia and often depict the lives of LGBT people in the Bible Belt, have won a loyal following and several awards. Her novel Finding H.F. (Alyson Press, 2001) won the Lambda Literary Award in the Children's/Young Adult category, and her historical YA novel Secret City (Bella Books, 2013) was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, a winner of a Golden Crown Literary Award, and a selection for the 2015 ALA Rainbow List.
