{"product_id":"the-high-desert-black-punk-nowhere-9780358659112","title":"The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of a 2022 ALA Alex Award \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the 2023 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Print Comics\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of \u003cem\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/em\u003e's 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2022 * One of NYPL's Best Books of 2022 *A \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/em\u003e\"Best Book of 2022\" \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA formative coming-of-age graphic memoir by the creator of Afro-punk: a young man's immersive reckoning with identity, racism, clumsy teen love and belonging in an isolated California desert, and a search for salvation and community through punk.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eApple Valley, California, in the late eighties, a thirsty, miserable desert.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeenage James Spooner hates that he and his mom are back in town after years away. The one silver lining--new school, new you, right? But the few Black kids at school seem to be gangbanging, and the other kids fall on a spectrum of micro-aggressors to future Neo-Nazis. Mixed race, acutely aware of his Blackness, James doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young Black punk who introduces him to the school outsiders--skaters, unhappy young rebels, caught up in the punk groundswell sweeping the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA haircut, a few Sex Pistols, Misfits and Black Flag records later: suddenly, James has friends, romantic prospects, and knows the difference between a bass and a guitar. But this desolate landscape hides brutal, building undercurrents: a classmate overdoses, a friend must prove himself to his white supremacist brother and the local Aryan brotherhood through a show of violence. Everything and everyone are set to collide at one of the year's biggest shows in town...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWeaving in the Black roots of punk rock and a vivid interlude in the thriving eighties DIY scene in New York's East Village, this is the memoir of a budding punk, artist, and activist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJAMES SPOONER is an accomplished tattoo artist, illustrator, and filmmaker. He directed the seminal documentary \u003ci\u003eAfro-Punk\u003c\/i\u003e. Spooner is also the co-founder of the Afro-punk Festival. Spooner's work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eNPR, Vice, The Village Voice, The New Yorker, Vibe, Fader, MTV, NBC News, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eVariety\u003c\/i\u003e. He is an ongoing guest curator for the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, and previously programmed for the Brooklyn Academy of Music.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50592279527698,"sku":"9780358659112","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9f5dbdad-a87f-41b8-9397-791447795a61.jpg?v=1732102142","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-high-desert-black-punk-nowhere-9780358659112","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}