Year of the Amphibian
A year in the life of a teenage boy in the early 1980's: a coming-of-age novel of sorts, but also a story about siblings in a broken family, and about the echoes of history, and about art, and about burritos, and about toads, and about girls.
Get the paperback or eBook:
Follow This Book:
- Winner, Best First Book
"A timeless, beautifully written coming-of-age story about transformation and self-acceptance." - 5/5 stars (read full review)
Eric Hoffer Awards 2019:
- Finalist, Fiction
Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2019:
- Finalist, General Fiction / Novel (over 80,000 words)
- Finalist, First Novel (over 90,000 words)
References
While this novel is set in the 1980's and partly in Los Angeles, it's not meant to be an exercise in nostalgia, and you certainly don't need to know the references to follow the story. That said, once you finish reading you can go back and trace them all via the magic of the internet:
For Book Clubs or Classrooms
"Year of the Amphibian" is a kind of portrait, with much that's debatable. To that end, I've assembled a number of discussion questions for book clubs or classrooms (and for anyone who has read the book):
Order from Ingram Wholesale:
- Paperback: ISBN 978-1-7324720-1-3
- Audience: teens and adults.
What is paradise for a fourteen-year-old boy?
For Conrad it’s definitely not dusty Los Angeles, where he’s stuck living with his mother and his cheeky little sisters.
Paradise is the forest where his dad still lives,
by the water where everything is beautiful,
where he belongs.
"Year of the Amphibian is a reflective and poignant literary novel for young adults with a strong narrative voice, nuanced characters, and vibrant settings." - 5/5 stars - IndieReader
"This polished novel is lovingly crafted ... the dynamics among the siblings and friends is warmly entertaining. Readers will remain invested in the characters' struggles and small triumphs as they navigate the awkwardness of adolescence and the perils of the adult world." - The BookLife Prize
"This coming-of-age story will strike home for many readers. It's one that a lot of people can relate to, as it dives into the innocence of childhood and the struggle of trying to grow up in the modern world." - The US Review of Books
Cover art by Eroyn Franklin.
