Dear Brooklyn neighbors: Come to a reading from my novel.

jmcsentry

Dear Brooklyn neighbors:

Come to a reading from my novel, The Night I Freed John Brown (Philomel Books, Penguin Group).


Thursday, June 12, 8:00 PM
Babbo's Books
242 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 788-3475

Click here for event details: http://www.babbosbooks.com/Events2.html

Reviews are in--and they're great!

Kirkus Reviews says: "Characterizations are sharp, the setting eerily evoked and the story satisfying. A highly original meditation on how the past can haunt the present."

Brad Lockwood of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle writes:

"It isn’t every day that a debut novel is being praised by a Poet Laureate, Newbery Honor recipient, and Pushcart Prize winner, but The Night I Freed John Brown is a rare release. Park Slope-based author John Michael Cummings offers a coming-of-age tale that is both historical and personal, set in his hometown of historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and somewhat based on his own experiences."

Black Warrior Review (University of Alabama) says: "The use of history as a narrative tool adds a scope that is rarely attempted in the realm of young adult literature."

Arkansas Tech University's literary journal NEBO says: "A must-read for young people as well as those who appreciate masterfully-constructed prose."

David M. Kinchen, Huntingtonnews.net Book Critic, writes:

"It's one of the best novels I've read in a long time and, as I noted, it's not just for young people. Philomel Books is a division of the Penguin Group, an outstanding major publisher. Calling all librarians out there: Buy this book! You might have to buy multiple copies."

Click here for full review: http://www.huntingtonnews.net/columns/080317-kinchen-columnsbookreview.html

Over the last fifteen years, my short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary journals, including North American Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Chattahoochee Review, The Kenyon Review, and The Iowa Review. My short story “The Scratchboard Project,” published in The Iowa Review, received an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007. Twice I have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. My novella The House of My Father, from which this novel was adapted, was a finalist in the 2006 Miami University Novella Contest.

I look forward to meeting my Brooklyn neighbors!

Cordially,

John Michael Cummings

More praise for The Night I Freed John Brown

“The Night I Freed John Brown is an American original, full of action and excitement. The setting is unique and characterization is superb. Highly recommended.”

--Ruth White, Newbery Honor Recipient

“Poignant and seductive—a psychological treasure hunt for young adults of all ages…Like touring your own private cemetery--at night without a flashlight.”

--Colin Sargent, editor of Portland Magazine

“Mysteries and ominous secrets draw us through the pages of The Night I Freed John Brown, and it is up to young Josh to figure them out and bring them to light….An exciting tale!”

--Fred Chappell, Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1997-2002


“The Night I Freed John Brown is one of those great reads—funny, sad, exciting and enlightening. But best of all its setting and characters are original. John Michael Cummings is a master of imagination. And he can write!"

--Janice Daugharty, author of Like a Sister

“You know, every good story, sure enough, needs caves, eerie houses, a flashlight, and a buddy who won’t let you down. This novel’s intense and spooky in the old-fashioned way.”

--George Singleton, author of Work Shirts for Madmen

“This vividly rendered story of a mysterious herb, shaken faith, and the crossing of a threshold from youthful confusion to mature wonderment is at its core a quest for atonement…Along with the boy Josh, the book’s audience explores how and why we must be willing to change our hearts.”

--R. T. Smith, author of Uke Rivers Delivers and Outlaw Style


“From its opening paragraphs in which two young boys penetrate a ‘jungle-like world’ to visit a mysterious abandoned house, The Night I Freed John Brown continues to engross the reader with accumulating tensions and surprise revelations of character motives and family secrets…The conflicts build to a startling climax of real narrative power.”


--Walter Cummins, editor of The Literary Review