{"product_id":"hard-mountain-clay-9781956957112","title":"Hard Mountain Clay","description":"\u003cp\u003eSiblings Ben and Maisy find they have no one to turn to after witnessing a gruesome hit-and-run that shatters their innocence. Not their mother, a poor waitress with a spiraling heroin addiction-and certainly not her new boyfriend, a brutal, meth-smoking tow truck driver named Lou Holt. When Lou's cover-up slowly turns their backyard into a makeshift cemetery, they devise plans to escape their chaotic home in the Santa Cruz Mountains, only to see their lives sink to even darker depths.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this rural town buried deep under redwood needles and mountain fog, a dangerous cast of characters never seems too far away. There's Cowboy, a fast-talking enabler of Lou's petty schemes; and MacLeod, a pock-faced proprietor of an off-the-books wrecking yard who utilizes child labor to disassemble his stolen cars. But everything changes when Don Halbert-a persistent school administrator with a keen eye for trouble-starts advocating for Ben and Maisy's welfare. The outcome will break your heart.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eHARD MOUNTAIN CLAY\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Resonant and harrowing, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eHard Mountain Clay\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is a haunting and visceral story of survival, betrayal, and the power of hope. Like a Californian William Gay, Blackwell writes with compassion and honesty about the worst, and the best, of human nature taking us deep into the dark to see glimmers of beauty. Raw, wrenching, and brave, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eHard Mountain Clay\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e will change you.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eMeagan Lucas\u003c\/strong\u003e, author - \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eSongbirds and Stray Dogs\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, Editor in Chief - \u003cem\u003eReckon Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Shotgun Honey Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50393426460946,"sku":"9781956957112","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a03cbc5d-49cf-46ef-a46d-01b3e034093a.jpg?v=1728988687","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/hard-mountain-clay-9781956957112","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}