{"product_id":"american-ace-isbn-9780803733053","title":"American Ace","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis riveting novel in verse, perfect for fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Toni Morrison, explores American history and race through the eyes of a teenage boy embracing his newfound identity\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Connor’s grandmother leaves his dad a letter when she dies, and the letter’s confession shakes their tight-knit Italian-American family: The man who raised Dad is not his birth father.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But the only clues to this birth father’s identity are a class ring and a pair of pilot’s wings. And so Connor takes it upon himself to investigate—a pursuit that becomes even more pressing when Dad is hospitalized after a stroke. What Connor discovers will lead him and his father to a new, richer understanding of race, identity, and each other.\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eAmerican Ace\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“[Nelson’s] meticulous verse is the perfect vehicle to convey the devastating fragility of racial and familial identity in an America where interracial love is still divided through the problem of the color line.”—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Inspired by her father’s remarkable experiences as a Tuskegee Airman, esteemed historian-poet Nelson has aced it again. . . . This slice of history has been told before, but not like this.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Nelson’s powerful command of language is inarguable.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A quietly powerful story about race, ignorance, and identity from a poetry master.”—Bustle.com \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A skillful exploration into identity, culture, and race.”—Examiner.com \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A gorgeous story that stays with you long after you finish.”—Buzzfeed  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A bright spot in historical fiction.”—\u003ci\u003eBookPage \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Stunning.”—Shelf AwarenessMarilyn Nelson is a three-time National Book Award finalist, has won a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and several Coretta Scott King Honors, and has received several prestigious poetry awards, including the Poets' Prize and the Robert Frost Medal \"for distinguished lifetime service to American poetry.\" Her most recent book, \u003ci\u003eHow I Discovered Poetry\u003c\/i\u003e, was named a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book and an ALA Notable Children’s Book.\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Language of Suffering\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy dad went weird when Nonna Lucia died.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was like his sense of humor died with her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe still patted my back and called me buddy;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewe still played catch while the mosquitoes rose.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe still rubbled my head with his knuckles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut a muscle had tightened in his jaw\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI’d never seen before, and the silence\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebetween us in the front seat of the van\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esometimes made me turn on the radio.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI knew he loved his mom. We all loved her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut when he smiled now, his eyes still looked sad,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eall these months after Nonna’s funeral.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaybe there was some treasure he’d wanted,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat she gave to one of his brothers in her will?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaybe he’d wanted some of the furniture?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut he got the embroidered tablecloth\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNonna and Nonno brought to America,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhich she spread out at family festivals\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eunder platter after platter after platter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe wasn’t a movie dad with another woman:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe was an oldish husband who’d just moved away,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea dad who didn’t hear you when you spoke.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMe and Mom and Theresa could see his pain,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebut we don’t know the language of suffering.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rocky Pond Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301597892837,"sku":"NP9780803733053","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780803733053.jpg?v=1767721408","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/american-ace-isbn-9780803733053","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}