Where No Gods Came (Sweetwater Fiction: Originals)

"The various voices ring true. Ms. O'Connor writes of family and love and loss and youth at risk and hard-earned pleasure; she does so with a noticing eye and tone-perfect ear."-Nicholas Delbanco". . . a touching odyssey of a girl poised between the emotional abyss and the reader's heart."-Annie Betz, Minneapolis Star-Tribune "Sheila O'Connor's beautifully readable novel about young girls living close to the precipice is truthful, tough, and filled with delicate hope. She shows how we all survive by inches, by grace." -Maureen Gibbon"For a single mother of three, and a writer who reads countless books a year, to stay up most of the night to finish a novel means it must be a heck of a story: and Sheila O'Connor's novel was, so compelling in the landscape of urban hardscrabble Minneapolis, and the interior horizons of a damaged mother and her two daughters trying to build their own fable of a family. Fervent and despairing and truth-hard, this novel kept me spellbound, hurtling toward a hoped-for redemption."-Susan Straight, author of Highwire Moon". . . a fresh and moving coming-of-age novel, a memorable portrait of the artist as a scrawny young girl. . . . If Where No Gods Came is a kind of fairy tale, it's the real thing, as told by Grimm not Disney, full of real menace, sharp edges and rough corners, strangeness and, ultimately, the possibility of grace. It's a story about the power of love and guts and imagination to sustain a skinny kid in a hard world."-Mike Cochrane, Buffalo NewsEnmeshed in a tangled family web, young Faina McCoy is abruptly uprooted against her will from her father and finds herself half a continent away on the doorstep of a mother who abandoned her years before-but who can't live without Faina now. Alone, persecuted, and exploited, Faina must fend for herself in her search for love and answers, navigating the streets of a strange city and forging bonds of feeling with liars and outlaws.In this candid portrait of the unlikely faces of good and evil, and how an innocent must learn to recognize them to endure, award-winning author Sheila O'Connor tells the compelling story of a young girl caught in a perilous scheme of elaborate lies created for her own harrowing system of survival. Where No Gods Came is a powerful look at assimilation and resilience and the sacrifices we all make to adapt. Winner 2003 Michigan Literary Fiction Award for original novelWinner of Minnesota Book Award "Written with precision and perception, this is a highly recommended work from a writer to watch." --- Library Journal "O'Connor . . . remains a consummate artist, true to her vision of a work that is bleak, truthful, and lacking any overt sentimental overtures. Her eye, a poet's eye, misses nothing." --- three candles ". . . a touching odyssey of a girl poised between the emotional abyss and the reader's heart." --- Minneapolis Star-Tribune "A sensitive, often disquieting book that rings true throughout. . . . It's the skill of an accomplished writer that we see Faina's extraordinary spirit, while simultaneously experiencing her pain and despair. The end result is an uplifting, even inspiring book without any of the sugarcoating often found in stories like this." --- California Literary Review Where No Gods Came is author Sheila O'Connor's compelling story of Faina McCoy, a young girl caught in a perilous scheme of elaborate lies created for her own harrowing system of survival. Enmeshed in a tangled family web, Faina is abruptly uprooted against her will from her father and finds herself half a continent away on the doorstep of a mother who abandoned her years before-but who can't live without Faina now. Alone, persecuted, and exploited, Faina must fend for herself as she searches for love and answers, navigating the streets of a strange city and forging bonds of feeling with liars and outlaws. Faina McCoy Where Is the World?......Page 14 Faina Minneapolis......Page 24 Lenore Ancient History......Page 35 Cammy Missing......Page 39 Faina The New Girl......Page 41 Lenore Departure......Page 51 Faina Sheep......Page 54 Faina Ghost in the Graveyard......Page 64 Lenore The Accident......Page 73 Cammy First Snow......Page 76 Faina Jimmy Cordova......Page 79 Lenore Winter Dream......Page 94 Faina Sisters......Page 96 Cammy Family......Page 110 Faina Gifts......Page 118 Cammy Closing the Circle......Page 127 Lenore Survivors......Page 131 Faina Stew......Page 133 Cammy Sweethearts......Page 142 Faina The Message......Page 149 Cammy Luck......Page 159 Lenore The Whirlpool......Page 165 Faina Protect Us......Page 168 Cammy Running......Page 180 Faina Empty......Page 185 Cammy What Was Ahead......Page 194 Lenore Intensive Care......Page 195 Faina Shelter......Page 197 Faina McCoy......Page 209 Faina McCoy Where Is the World? 14 Faina Minneapolis 24 Lenore Ancient History 35 Cammy Missing 39 Faina The New Girl 41 Lenore Departure 51 Faina Sheep 54 Faina Ghost in the Graveyard 64 Lenore The Accident 73 Cammy First Snow 76 Faina Jimmy Cordova 79 Lenore Winter Dream 94 Faina Sisters 96 Cammy Family 110 Faina Gifts 118 Cammy Closing the Circle 127 Lenore Survivors 131 Faina Stew 133 Cammy Sweethearts 142 Faina The Message 149 Cammy Luck 159 Lenore The Whirlpool 165 Faina Protect Us 168 Cammy Running 180 Faina Empty 185 Cammy What Was Ahead 194 Lenore Intensive Care 195 Faina Shelter 197 Faina McCoy 209 9780472113651 Sheila O'connor Tells The Story Of Faina Mccoy, A Young Girl Caught In A Perilous Scheme Of Elaborate Lies Created For Her Own Harrowing System Of Survival. Enmeshed In A Tangled Family Web, Faina Is Abruptly Uprooted Against Her Will From Her Father And Finds Herself Half A Continent Away On The Doorstep Of A Mother Who Abandoned Her Years Before - But Who Can't Live Without Faina Now. Alone, Persecuted, And Exploited, Faina Must Fend For Herself As She Searches For Love And Answers, Navigating The Streets Of A Strange City And Forging Bonds Of Feeling With Liars And Outlaws.--jacket. Sheila O'connor. I go back to San Diego for my beginning, because I can't shake from my mind the old life: hot sand and salt water outside my window, my father's coffee left on the stove, the early morning silence of our house, my father always gone before I'm awake. Where No Gods Came, The 2003 Winner Of The Michigan Literary Fiction Award For Original Novel, Is A Candid Portrait Of The Unlikely Faces Of Good And Evil, And How An Innocent Must Learn To Recognize Them To Endure