{"product_id":"gutter-child-9781443457842","title":"Gutter Child","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFinalist for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCityline Book Club Pick \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A deep, unflinching yet loving look at injustice and power.\" --\u003cem\u003eChatelaine\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A powerful and unforgettable novel\" (\u003cem\u003eQuill and Quire\u003c\/em\u003e, starred review) about a young woman who must find the courage to secure her freedom and determine her own future \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet in an imagined world in which the most vulnerable are forced to buy their freedom by working off their debt to society, \u003cem\u003eGutter Child\u003c\/em\u003e uncovers a nation divided into the privileged Mainland and the policed Gutter. As part of a social experiment led by the Mainland government, Elimina Dubois is one of just one hundred babies taken from the Gutter and raised in the land of opportunity. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut when her Mainland mother dies, Elimina finds herself alone, a teenager forced into an unfamiliar life of servitude, unsure of who she is and where she belongs. Sent to an academy with new rules and expectations, Elimina befriends children who are making their own way through the Gutter System in whatever way they know how. But when her life takes yet another unexpected turn, Elimina will discover that what she needs more than anything may not be the freedom she longed for after all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGutter Child\u003c\/em\u003e reveals one young woman's journey through a fractured world of heartbreaking disadvantages and shocking injustices. As a modern heroine in an altered but all-too-recognizable reality, Elimina must find the strength within herself to forge her future in defiance of a system that tries to shape her destiny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichardson, Jael:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJAEL RICHARDSON\u003c\/strong\u003e is the artistic director of the FOLD literary festival, the books columnist on CBC Radio's \u003cem\u003eq\u003c\/em\u003e and an outspoken advocate on issues of diversity. She is the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Stone Thrower: A Daughter's Lesson, a Father's Life, \u003c\/em\u003e a memoir based on her relationship with her father, CFL quarterback Chuck Ealey. The memoir received a CBC Bookie Award, an Arts Acclaim Award and a My People Award. A children's edition was published by Groundwood Books. Her essay \"Conception\" is part of \u003cem\u003eRoom\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e magazine's\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003efirst Women of Colour edition, and excerpts from her first play, \u003cem\u003emy upside down black face\u003c\/em\u003e, appear in the anthology \u003cem\u003eT-Dot Griots: An Anthology of Toronto's Black Storytellers\u003c\/em\u003e. Jael Richardson received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph. She lives in Brampton, Ontario.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50495858180370,"sku":"9781443457842","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0ff595f7-eb5a-4e76-8451-df1df5aee854.jpg?v=1730688435","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/gutter-child-9781443457842","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}