{"product_id":"news-of-the-world-a-novel-isbn-9780062409218","title":"News of the World: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNow a Major Motion Picture\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNational Book Award Finalist\u003c\/b\u003e—\u003cb\u003eFiction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of the American West from the author of \u003ci\u003eEnemy Women\u003c\/i\u003e that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence in this compelling journey story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna’s parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by the U.S. army, the ten-year-old has once again been torn away from the only home she knows.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, throws away her shoes, and refuses to act “civilized.” Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome. The captain must hand Johanna over to an aunt and uncle she does not remember—strangers who regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become—in the eyes of the law—a kidnapper himself.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eCaptain Jefferson Kyle Kidd drifts through northern Texas, performing live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world—of the Irish pouring into New York City, of the railroad driving into the new state of Nebraska. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain once made his living as a printer, until the War Between the States took his press and everything with it. Now, at seventy-one, he enjoys the freedom of the road.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt a stop in Wichita Falls, Captain Kidd is offered an astonishing $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives near San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders viciously killed Johanna Leonberger’s parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently recovered by the U.S. Army, the inconsolable ten-year-old with blue eyes and hair the color of maple sugar has once again been torn away from the only home and family she knows. The captain’s sense of duty and compassion propels him to accept, though he knows the journey will be difficult. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWinding through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain, the four-hundred-mile odyssey south proves dangerous. A corrupt Reconstruction government runs the state government, and anarchy and lawlessness has taken hold. The captain must watch for thieves, Comanche and Kiowa, and the federal army—and corral the wild Johanna, who has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, and refuses to act “civilized.” Yet as the miles pass, the wary Johanna slowly draws closer to the man she calls Kep-dun, and the two lonely survivors forge a tender bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“This Western is not to be missed by Jiles’s fans and lovers of Texan historical fiction.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal on NEWS OF THE WORLD\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] sleek and entertaining novel . . . [W]hat stands out amid the gun smoke and the period detail is the moving friendship between a girl with no place to fit in and an old man who has outlived his usefulness. Add them to the list of the Wild West’s great odd couples.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal on NEWS OF THE WORLD\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Paulette Jiles’ spare Western packs a powerful punch. And, boy, can Jiles write. . . . \u003cem\u003eNews of the World\u003c\/em\u003e is surprisingly tender, but never soft. It’s lovely.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today (4 out of 4 stars)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A stunning story that tore at my heart and my gut. The relationship at its core between a grizzled old man and a lost young girl digs deep into what it means to care about someone and to find your place in the world.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring on News of the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A powerful, richly-realized journey. . . . Captain Kidd belongs in the pantheon of great Western characters along with True Grit’s Rooster Cogburn and Lonesome Dove’s Gus and Call.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCharles Frazier, National Book Award-winning author of Cold Mountain\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eNews of the World\u003c\/em\u003e is . . . [an] exquisite book about the joys of freedom; the discovery of unexpected, proprietary love between two people who have never experienced anything like it; pure adventure in the wilds of an untamed Texas; and the reconciling of vastly different cultures. . . . That’s a lot to pack into a short, vigorous volume, but Ms. Jiles is capable of saying a lot in few words.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Morrow Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888805998821,"sku":"NP9780062409218","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062409218.jpg?v=1730229866","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/news-of-the-world-a-novel-isbn-9780062409218","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}