Patrick Downes

The powerful story of a mind at the edge of unraveling, held together by love and acceptance. Nest and Q walk through the city. Nest speaks and Q listens. Mile by mile, Nest tells Q about her life, her family, her past . . . and her Chimaera, the beast that preys on her mind and causes her to lose herself. Q knows only that his love for Nest runs deeper than the demon that plagues her thoughts, that he loves her in spite of—or perhaps because of—the personal battle she fights every day. A beautifully-written, haunting story. Praise for Ten Miles One Way: “A loving but honest treatment of mental illness, these words will sing off the page and into your heart. No question: the world is a better place with Patrick Downes writing in it.”—A. M. Jenkins, author of the Printz Honor Book Repossessed * "Downes subtly plumbs the depths of mental illness within the broader context of relationship and self-awareness....An intricate, unusual love story for readers attuned to compassion."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Through bewitching prose, idiosyncratic detail, and the presentation of a mind simultaneously on the edge of epiphany and exhaustion, breakthrough and breakdown, Downes crafts a tender portrayal of both mental illness and love itself. Part romance, part poetry, and part monologue, perceptive teens will devour this one."—Booklist "This is a dark, affecting tale about the mind of a bipolar adolescent attempting to run from her own thoughts, and her boyfriend, who listens, learns, and loves her throughout everything. Many readers will connect with this raw, powerful portrait of a young person living with mental illness. Recommended for most YA collections."—School Library Journal "What’s most interesting is that underneath the journey and the mental illness and even the harrowing crash, this is at the core a love story, one that isn’t always pretty or even healthy but is absolutely memorable."—BCCB "Downes doesn’t cloak the depth of Nest’s suffering nor offer false promises about love’s ability to rescue or redeem."—Publishers Weekly Praise for Fell of Dark: * “A stunning debut novel that offers sophisticated readers a glimpse into the psychological disintegration of two distinct characters.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review * “[W]hether in an image or in a confused, despairing reaction to an incomprehensible world . . . Downes’s vision will connect into an epiphany.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review * “Readers willing to sink into the depths of two unstrung teens and their frantic individual struggles to understand the cruelties and redemptions of the universe will be rewarded by this disarming, thought-provoking, and entrancing story.”—Booklist, starred review “Here is a book built of darkness and gleam, of raw emotion and shattering poetry, of harrowing compulsions and zero compromise. Patrick Downes possesses blazing, beautiful, terrifying talent. His characters walk the shadows. His language bursts like sky.”—Beth Kephart, National Book Award nominee “Luminous and pure. A masterwork of astonishing authority and beauty.”—Julie Berry, author of All the Truth That’s in Me

Ten Miles One Way

Chronicles the lives of two mentally ill boys--Erik, who believes he is a saint, and Thorn, who believes he is a demon--as their minds devolve into hallucinations, showing the way their worlds intersect, and culminating in a final stand-off.

Fell of Dark

Jessica Kensky

When he is paired with a girl who has lost her legs, Rescue worries that he isn't up to the task of being her service dog.

A Life-Changing Friendship

Rescue and Jessica

Little Angus wakes up angry, and decides to run away from home when his mother scolds him for being rude--but he is very soon lost, hungry, and more than a little frightened.

Come Home, Angus

A teenaged boy struggles as he watches his family and relationships fracture after the death of his mother, and is now faced with the terrible possibility that his twin brother may have just killed their father. Seventeen-year-old Rad comes home to find his father lying broken and dead at the bottom of the ravine behind their house. Rad’s twin brother, shaken but very much alive, had watched their father fall. Desperate to understand what has happened before calling the police, Rad confronts his brother and the complicated landscape of their past. He reconstructs not just the circumstances leading to his father’s death, but the history of his family. How can a family simply disintegrate? Were they ever happy, or were the roots of unhappiness always there? What plagued his father? What plagues Rad? As the time comes to do the right thing, the question remains. Did his brother kill their father? And what will happen to the boys now?

Island

A book that challenges the word "powerful" and obliterates it Written in searing prose, this is the story of two boys: Erik, who performs miracles, and Thorn, who hears voices. The book chronicles their lives as their minds devolve into hallucinations, and shows the way their worlds intersect, culminating in a final stand-off. This debut novel offer a raw, insightful look at the forces that compel us to act against our will. Even more so, it captivates and dares us to look away, knowing full well we can't. Praise for FELL OF DARK: * "Downes brilliantly plays with language and metaphor, and explores the dualities of sanity/insanity, beauty/ugliness, voice/voicelessness in a chilling echo of real incidents of school violence. A stunning debut novel that offers sophisticated readers a glimpse into the psychological disintegration of two distinct characters."--Kirkus Reviews *STARRED* * "For many readers, this will be an impersonal but impressive work of literary art. But for some, serendipity will strike, whether in an image or in a confused, despairing reaction to an incomprehensible world, and Downes’s vision will connect into an epiphany."--Publishers Weekly *STARRED* * "Readers willing to sink into the depths of two unstrung teens and their frantic individual struggles to understand the cruelties and redemptions of the universe will be rewarded by this disarming, thought-provoking, and entrancing story."--Booklist *STARRED* "Readers who are up for a literary challenge will find this dual narrative provocative, beautiful, and deeply sad."--BCCB “Here is a book built of darkness and gleam, of raw emotion and shattering poetry, of harrowing compulsions and zero compromise. Patrick Downes possesses blazing, beautiful, terrifying talent. His characters walk the shadows. His language bursts like sky.”—Beth Kephart, National Book Award nominee and author of Small Damages “Luminous and pure. A masterwork of astonishing authority and beauty.”—Julie Berry, author of All the Truth That’s In Me

A 2019 Schneider Family Book Award Winner Based on a real-life partnership, the heartening story of the love and teamwork between a girl and her service dog will illuminate and inspire. Rescue thought he’d grow up to be a Seeing Eye dog — it’s the family business, after all. When he gets the news that he’s better suited to being a service dog, he’s worried that he’s not up to the task. Then he meets Jessica, a girl whose life is turning out differently than the way she'd imagined it, too. Now Jessica needs Rescue by her side to help her accomplish everyday tasks. And it turns out that Rescue can help Jessica see after all: a way forward, together, one step at a time. An endnote from the authors tells more about the training and extraordinary abilities of service dogs, particularly their real-life best friend and black lab, Rescue.

Patrick Downes

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