Michelle Kuo arrived in the rural town of Helena, Arkansas, as a Teach for America volunteer in 2004, bursting with optimism and drive. But she soon encountered the jarring realities of life in one of the poorest counties in America. In this unforgettable memoir, Michelle shares the story of her complicated but rewarding mentorship of one student, Patrick Browning, and his remarkable literary and political awakening. Fifteen and in the eighth grade,...

Falling for a young man who has accepted a job at a hippie Quaker school, Flora leaves her elite prep school to join him, but must make the most of the situation when he fails to show up, in a story told through letters, emails, and news stories.