Dig

Praise

Winner of the 2020 Michael L. Printz Medal
A Finalist for the 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize

“A.S. King challenges readers from the first page to the last. Dig will make you question the confines of your comfort zone—if you have one. An incredible addition to an already impressive body of work.“—Erin Entrada Kelly, New York Times bestselling author and Newbery medalist

“King’s fierce empathy for young people is evident throughout, matched by her gift for a brand of weirdness that somehow manages to capture the intensity, wonder and pain of being alive. Anyone who thinks YA books can’t also be great literature needs to read this author.”—Irish Times

★ “[King’s] trademark surrealism and trenchant prose will speak profoundly to a generation of young people who are waking up to the societal sins of the past and working toward a more equitable future.”—The Horn Book, starred review

★ “This visceral examination of humanity’s flaws and complexity […] cultivates hope in a younger generation that’s wiser and stronger than its predecessors.”—Booklist, starred review

★ “[P]urely mesmerizing … the most haunting exploration in youth literature to date of the advantage and poison that is white privilege, and the resentment of young people at the toxicity of what they inherit. King fans know to expect the unexpected, and they’ll be richly rewarded with this intricate, heartfelt, readable concoction.“ —BCCB, starred review

★ “Sometimes, once you start digging, you find the poisonous parts, but you also find the fruit that will keep you alive.“—SLC, starred review 

★ “A.S. King’s novels…are in another solar system entirely.”—Bookpage, starred review

★ “This combination of masterly storytelling, memorable characters, and unexpected twists and turns make this book into an unforgettable, lingering read.”–SLJ, starred review

“[This] strange and heart-wrenching tale is stunningly original.”—Kirkus

“[P]rofound … offers hope that at least some of these characters will dig themselves out from under the legacy of hate they have unwillingly inherited.”—Publishers Weekly 

“This is one of the best written, most memorable young adult novels I’ve ever read. It’s that good.”—Richie’s Picks

“No apologies necessary. Dig is writing at its finest.”—Book and Film Globe

“[T]aut, mesmerizing…The story fearlessly navigates intellectually and emotionally challenging terrain—racism and whiteness, abuse and assault, misogyny, and other violence—as the teens consider and confront painful truths.”—Cooperative Children’s Book Center

“There is no other writer like her. She has the power to astonish like a natural wonder. And her books—the raw honesty, beauty, and singular strangeness of them—make me feel less alone in the world.”—Martha Brockenbrough, author of The Game of Love and Death
 

• A School Library Journal Best Book
• A Boston Globe Horn Book Fanfare Book
• A Chicago Public Library Best Book
• A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
• A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Title 
• A YALSA Amazing Audiobooks Top Ten Title