Books published by publisher Gival Press, LLC

2016 William Styron International Prize for Writing, Shortlist2015 Lascaux Prize in Fiction, Finalist2014 Gival Press Novel AwardI know of few other novels that so powerfully evoke the chaos andpowerlessness of childhood, even fewer that do so with such power andbrilliance.- Margot Livesey, author of Mercury and Eva Moves the FurnitureAn adventure of feeling and intelligence, frightening in its penetration to the depth of a child's anguish, Ghost Horse is a masterful novel.- James Carroll, author of An American Requiem, National Book Award Winner Set amidst the social tensions of 1970's Houston, Ghost Horse tells the story of eleven-year-old Buddy Turner's shifting alliances within his fragmented family and with two other boys--one Anglo, one Latino--in their quest to make a Super-8 animated movie. As his father's many secrets begin to unravel, Buddy discovers the real movie: the intersection between life as he sees it and the truth of his own past. In a vivid story of love, friendship, and betrayal, Ghost Horse explores a boy's swiftly changing awareness of himself and the world through the lens of imagination.KIRKUS REVIEWA Texas boy grapples with his parents' estrangement in McNeely's debut novel.Eleven-year-old Buddy lives with his mother in 1970s Houston at a time when proper, white middle-class living means that mothers don't work, parents don't divorce, and white children don't befriend the Mexican children down the street. Buddy's young life has missed all these supposed marks of propriety: His mother, Margot, works in a hospital laboratory; his absentee father, Jimmy, has blown back into town and wants a divorce; and Buddy spends much of his time with his Latino best friend, Alex, who's working on a film about a ghost horse. Buddy's torment slowly, steadily grows throughout this sensitive novel as his immature father and his bafflingly stubborn mother make him choose between them again and again. His cold grandparents, meanwhile, only exacerbate the bitter divide. He finally tries to find solace in a new friendship with a fellow student whose home life is similarly caustic. As he struggles to survive the failures of the adults around him, he careens down a path of unhappiness and destruction. McNeely beautifully portrays the confusion of a boy doing his best to deal with matters that are beyond his understanding but fully capable of doing him harm ("He wishes a sheet of fire would cut through the yard; he wishes [his mother] would disappear. But the questions still pulse, there, in the darkness: What will happen when his father comes back?"). The author effectively shows how evil is not born but made; as the grown-ups continue to pile their burdens on him, something hateful begins to bloom in Buddy that wasn't there before. Overall, the novel will be a haunting read for anyone who's experienced the childhood anguish of divorce and a powerful reminder to mothers and fathers of the unseen damage that their behavior can inflict on their children.A dark, deeply stirring novel about the quiet tragedy of growing up in a broken family.

Winner of the 2013 Gival Press Novel Award / "An elegy for a lost father, an unforgettable fable of the power of art, Ghost Horse weaves a singular spell, captivating the reader and never letting go."--Adam Johnson, author of The Orphan Master's Son, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction / Set amidst the social tensions of 1970's Houston, Ghost Horse tells the story of eleven-year-old Buddy Turner's shifting alliances within his fragmented family and with two other boys--one Anglo, one Latino--in their quest to make a Super-8 animated movie. As his father's many secrets begin to unravel, Buddy discovers the real movie: the intersection between life as he sees it and the truth of his own past. In a vivid story of love, friendship, and betrayal, Ghost Horse explores a boy's swiftly changing awareness of himself and the world through the lens of imagination.

A stirring collection of poetry that will appeal to fans of The Sobbing School and A Fortune for Your Disaster.They Talk Different Here, Etienne Toussaint’s much anticipated second collection of poetry, explores the journey of sons and daughters of immigrants across the contemporary American urban landscape. Each poem strings together a complex and rich story of the interiority of oppressed communities. A dynamic representation of figures with diverse ages and experiences are placed in conversation across the page, reflecting a shared search for belonging in a nation of foreign tongues. With poetic narrative storytelling that is simultaneously personal and political, They Talk Different Here provides a searing polemic against narratives of poverty in an age of social unrest. Toussaint’s work is a clarion call for empathy and love. But most of all, it bears witness to the immigrant’s unwavering quest for freedom.