Books with author Mary T. Hall

Sometimes heroes can be found in the most unlikely places. Fourteen-year-old Clarence Feather knows no world beyond desolate Mayfair Heights. Three years ago, his mother was killed before his eyes by a stray bullet. When his father becomes unable to keep the family afloat, Clarence is manipulated into running drugs. But he longs to be a good person, in spite of the seemingly impossible odds. Wandering through his neighborhood, Clarence meets Mona, a huge albino Great Dane. The two develop a deep bond. When he is forced to attend a dog fight as a rite of passage, Clarence realizes that Mona isn’t safe, and neither is he. Can he find a way to protect Mona? Can he survive life in Mayfair Heights and still become the person his mother wanted him to be? A novel about self-reliance, difficult choices, and imagination in the face of danger and isolation, Wirewalker is a masterfully written debut that blends gritty realism with moments of fantastical escape.

Sometimes heroes can be found in the most unlikely places. Fourteen-year-old Clarence Feather knows no world beyond desolate Mayfair Heights. Three years ago, his mother was killed before his eyes by a stray bullet. When his father becomes unable to keep the family afloat, Clarence is manipulated into running drugs. But he longs to be a good person, in spite of the seemingly impossible odds. Wandering through his neighborhood, Clarence meets Mona, a huge albino Great Dane. The two develop a deep bond. When he is forced to attend a dog fight as a rite of passage, Clarence realizes that Mona isn’t safe, and neither is he. Can he find a way to protect Mona? Can he survive life in Mayfair Heights and still become the person his mother wanted him to be? A novel about self-reliance, difficult choices, and imagination in the face of danger and isolation, Wirewalker is a masterfully written debut that blends gritty realism with moments of fantastical escape.

[Young Adult Fiction (Ages 12-17)]After fourteen-year-old Clarence lost his mother to a stray bullet four years ago, his father has since abdicated all pretense of parenthood and allowed his buddy to press Clarence into service as a drug runner. In his wanderings through his frightening urban neighborhood, Clarence encounters Mona, a huge Great Dane with whom he develops a deep bond. After witnessing a horrific dogfighting event, Clarence vows to live up to his mother's expectations, finding help from the kindly Bangladeshi immigrant who runs the local convenience store, from his plucky English teacher, and from his imagined interactions with Mona the dog. A novel about hope and self-reliance in the face of grave danger, Wirewalker is a masterfully written debut.