{"product_id":"hold-love-strong-9781416562047","title":"Hold Love Strong","description":"\u003cb\u003eBorn to a thirteen-year-old in the bathroom of his family's small apartment, Abraham Singleton enters a world laden with the obstacles inherent in an impoverished urban community.\u003c\/b\u003e But when his mother becomes addicted to crack and his uncle--the family's basketball prodigy and their potential ticket out of poverty--is arrested and convicted, the last glimmer of hope is extinguished. Then a college scholarship offers Abraham a way out, but what of those he will leave behind? Tossed into tumultuous times, Abraham and his family struggle to overcome their grim environment and the crushing weight of the past. . \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the vein of Richard Wright's \u003ci\u003eNative Son\u003c\/i\u003e, this novel is a wake-up call to America \"told exceptionally well in the lyrical first person voice of a sensitive and perceptive youth\" ( \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e ). A spellbinding coming-of-age novel about love, hope, and the will to survive, \u003ci\u003eHold Love Strong\u003c\/i\u003e is a revealing look inside the nation's crumbling housing projects, and a universal story about the incredible capacity of the human spirit..\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGoodman, Matthew Aaron:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eMatthew Goodman\u003c\/b\u003e earned a B.A. degree in literature from Brandeis University and an MFA from Emerson College. He has been a student of writing at the 92nd Street Y, Breadloaf Writer's Conference, and the Vermont Studio Center, and has taught and worked in inner-city communities for years. Working hand-in-hand with formerly incarcerated men and women, he created The Leadership Alliance, a community empowerment project that unites community leaders and volunteer partners. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGoodman, Matthew Aaron:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eMatthew Goodman\u003c\/b\u003e earned a B.A. degree in literature from Brandeis University and an MFA from Emerson College. He has been a student of writing at the 92nd Street Y, Breadloaf Writer's Conference, and the Vermont Studio Center, and has taught and worked in inner-city communities for years. Working hand-in-hand with formerly incarcerated men and women, he created The Leadership Alliance, a community empowerment project that unites community leaders and volunteer partners. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York.","brand":"Touchstone Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50465256636690,"sku":"9781416562047","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_15dd98ca-f2c7-446a-b609-56a2e8d00431.jpg?v=1730110475","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/hold-love-strong-9781416562047","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}