Long Gone Daddy

The first time fourteen-year-old Harlan Q met his grandfather, he was laid up on a porcelain prep table at the local funeral home with a grin on his face—like he was getting the last laugh. His will leaves a chunk of money and a Cadillac convertible. The catch? His body must be buried in Las Vegas. With little money, Harlan Q convinces his Bible-thumping father to load the corpse in the back of their station wagon and take the road-trip to honor his grandfather's wishes. Along the way they pick up Warrior, a Hollywood-bound, Zen-minded actor-in-training. He surprisingly helps Harlan begin to understand his thoughts and life—separate from the thinking of his father—during a covert stop at his late grandfather's bar, Long Gone Daddy's."Hemphill strikes a confident balance between deep heartache and sharply irreverent humor." --Booklist

"[An] impressive debut. . . . Hemphill [is] a writer to watch." --Publishers Weekly

"The colorful and comedic travel tale will draw a broad range of readers, while those dealing with their own parental friction will sympathize with Harlan Q's struggles." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksHelen Hemphill grew up in Texas and now lives in Austin and Nashville, Tennessee. She is the author of the novels Runaround and The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones, which were published to critical acclaim.