Zero Fade - Softcover

Terry, Chris L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0988480433 ISBN 13: 9780988480438

Publisher: Curbside Splendor Pub, 2013

Synopsis

Zero Fade chronicles eight days in the life of inner-city Richmond, Virginia, teen Kevin Phifer as he deals with wack haircuts, bullies, last year's fly gear, his uncle Paul coming out as gay, and being grounded.

About this title

Review

A YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATION BFYA NOMINEE
AN IN THE MARGINS LIST SELECTION
ONE OF SLATE.COM'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2013!
ONE OF KIRKUS REVIEWS' BEST TEEN BOOKS OF 2013!
"Meet Kevin Phifer. He's in seventh grade, with a dad who's been gone for 10 years, a mom who won't let him get a fade, and a neighborhood bully who won't leave him alone. It's 1994 in Richmond, Va., and Kevin's the hero of Chris L. Terry's funny, well-observed young adult novel. I loved Zero Fade for its great period detail and its honesty about its main character's emotions--including his confusion and concern about an uncle who's coming out to his family."
-- Dan Kois, "Slate"
"Kevin Phifer, 13, a black seventh-grader in 1990s Richmond, Va., and hero of this sparkling debut, belongs in the front ranks of fiction's hormone-addled, angst-ridden adolescents, from Holden Caulfield to the teenage Harry Potter [...] Original, hilarious, thought-provoking and wicked smart: not to be missed.
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
""Zero Fade" is a damn fine read with a resounding message that never preaches, but instead talks to you across the table like a friend and ally. Highly recommended. Chris L. Terry is an author to keep an eye on."
-- "Razorcake"
""Zero Fade" is a "funny and insightful coming of age story, which takes place in the 1990s hip-hop era, [and] is a standout story in children's literature, in which many more black male protagonists are needed."
-- "Richmond Times Dispatch"
""Zero Fade" is wise and wise-assed, hilarious and subtle, knowing and searching. We need writers like Chris Terry, unafraid to plumb the complexities and absurdities of race and identity with grace and funk."
-- Adam Mansbach, #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of "Rage is Back" and "GO
THE F**K TO SLEEP"
"Chris Terry is a wise and hilarious writer. He has bestowed Kevin, the hero of Zero Fade, with an especially acute case of teenage an
A YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATION BFYA NOMINEE

AN IN THE MARGINS LIST SELECTION

ONE OF SLATE.COM'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2013!

ONE OF KIRKUS REVIEWS' BEST TEEN BOOKS OF 2013!

"Meet Kevin Phifer. He's in seventh grade, with a dad who's been gone for 10 years, a mom who won't let him get a fade, and a neighborhood bully who won't leave him alone. It's 1994 in Richmond, Va., and Kevin's the hero of Chris L. Terry's funny, well-observed young adult novel. I loved Zero Fade for its great period detail and its honesty about its main character's emotions--including his confusion and concern about an uncle who's coming out to his family."
-- Dan Kois, Slate

"Kevin Phifer, 13, a black seventh-grader in 1990s Richmond, Va., and hero of this sparkling debut, belongs in the front ranks of fiction's hormone-addled, angst-ridden adolescents, from Holden Caulfield to the teenage Harry Potter [...] Original, hilarious, thought-provoking and wicked smart: not to be missed.
-- Kirkus Reviews

"Zero Fade is a damn fine read with a resounding message that never preaches, but instead talks to you across the table like a friend and ally. Highly recommended. Chris L. Terry is an author to keep an eye on."
-- Razorcake

"Zero Fade is a "funny and insightful coming of age story, which takes place in the 1990s hip-hop era, [and] is a standout story in children's literature, in which many more black male protagonists are needed."
-- Richmond Times Dispatch

"Zero Fade is wise and wise-assed, hilarious and subtle, knowing and searching. We need writers like Chris Terry, unafraid to plumb the complexities and absurdities of race and identity with grace and funk."
-- Adam Mansbach, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rage is Back and GO
THE F**K TO SLEEP

"Chris Terry is a wise and hilarious writer. He has bestowed Kevin, the hero of Zero Fade, with an especially acute case of teenage angst, and the results are sweet, painful and very recognizable to anyone who has survived seventh grade. This is a wonderful book."
-- Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife

"With sharp storytelling sagacity and attention to detail, Mr. Terry masterfully captures the lingo and tackles the issues of growing up hip-hop in the early '90s. He's fired up the Flux Capacitor and brought me back to a childhood of asymmetrical haircuts, terms and viewpoints that have since become taboo and other idiosyncratic stuff that speaks to modern society's invisible men: the black, hip-hop kids of Generation X."
-- J-Zone, author of Root for the Villain: Rap, Bulls**t, and a Celebration of Failure

"Reading Chris Terry's Zero Fade offered me a glimpse into a cultural experience that isn't mine, but that I could recognize immediately. Vernacular as world. On the surface, it's just language. But this novel isn't surface. The characters speak in rhythms that reveal emotions not identifiable by just words, but I'll name them nonetheless: humor, sadness, confusion, joy, revelation. It's all here in Terry's first novel, a novel that is practically carbonated, how it sparkles and burns."
-- Lindsay Hunter, author of Daddy'sand Don't Kiss Me

"The fictional story, set in Richmond's North Side in 1994, tells the tale of seventh-grader Kevin Phifer and his trials and tribulations [in a] slyly comical and nuanced take on teenage angst."
-- Style Weekly

"There is something magical in the way that [Chris L.] Terry captures Kevin's world. Kevin is at once vulgar and sweetly innocent, and his voice on the page is electric, as flowing and rhythmic as his favorite Biggie Smalls songs [...] Kevin's voice, though unique and rife with individual problems, is the voice of anyone who has ever been thirteen."
-- Chicago Literati

"Zero Fade by Chris L. Terry is a personal favorite and one of the best books for younger teens I've read in a long time. The novel is written at a breakneck speed [filled with] with hilarious gems, such as, "Tyrell's crew had been held back so many times that they were bigger than the teachers."
-- Any Cheney, Reaching Reluctant Readers
A YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATION BFYA NOMINEE

AN IN THE MARGINS LIST SELECTION

ONE OF SLATE.COM'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2013!

ONE OF KIRKUS REVIEWS' BEST TEEN BOOKS OF 2013!

"Meet Kevin Phifer. He's in seventh grade, with a dad who's been gone for 10 years, a mom who won't let him get a fade, and a neighborhood bully who won't leave him alone. It's 1994 in Richmond, Va., and Kevin's the hero of Chris L. Terry's funny, well-observed young adult novel. I loved Zero Fade for its great period detail and its honesty about its main character's emotions--including his confusion and concern about an uncle who's coming out to his family."
-- Dan Kois, Slate

"Kevin Phifer, 13, a black seventh-grader in 1990s Richmond, Va., and hero of this sparkling debut, belongs in the front ranks of fiction's hormone-addled, angst-ridden adolescents, from Holden Caulfield to the teenage Harry Potter [...] Original, hilarious, thought-provoking and wicked smart: not to be missed.
-- Kirkus Reviews

"Zero Fade is a damn fine read with a resounding message that never preaches, but instead talks to you across the table like a friend and ally. Highly recommended. Chris L. Terry is an author to keep an eye on."
-- Razorcake

"Zero Fade is a "funny and insightful coming of age story, which takes place in the 1990s hip-hop era, [and] is a standout story in children's literature, in which many more black male protagonists are needed."
-- Richmond Times Dispatch

"Zero Fade is wise and wise-assed, hilarious and subtle, knowing and searching. We need writers like Chris Terry, unafraid to plumb the complexities and absurdities of race and identity with grace and funk."
-- Adam Mansbach, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rage is Back and GO
THE F**K TO SLEEP

"Chris Terry is a wise and hilarious writer. He has bestowed Kevin, the hero of Zero Fade, with an especially acute case of teenage angst, and the results are sweet, painful and very recognizable to anyone who has survived seventh grade. This is a wonderful book."
-- Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife

"With sharp storytelling sagacity and attention to detail, Mr. Terry masterfully captures the lingo and tackles the issues of growing up hip-hop in the early '90s. He's fired up the Flux Capacitor and brought me back to a childhood of asymmetrical haircuts, terms and viewpoints that have since become taboo and other idiosyncratic stuff that speaks to modern society's invisible men: the black, hip-hop kids of Generation X."
-- J-Zone, author of Root for the Villain: Rap, Bulls**t, and a Celebration of Failure

"Reading Chris Terry's Zero Fade offered me a glimpse into a cultural experience that isn't mine, but that I could recognize immediately. Vernacular as world. On the surface, it's just language. But this novel isn't surface. The characters speak in rhythms that reveal emotions not identifiable by just words, but I'll name them nonetheless: humor, sadness, confusion, joy, revelation. It's all here in Terry's first novel, a novel that is practically carbonated, how it sparkles and burns."
-- Lindsay Hunter, author of Daddy'sand Don't Kiss Me

"The fictional story, set in Richmond's North Side in 1994, tells the tale of seventh-grader Kevin Phifer and his trials and tribulations [in a] slyly comical and nuanced take on teenage angst."
-- Style Weekly

"There is something magical in the way that [Chris L.] Terry captures Kevin's world. Kevin is at once vulgar and sweetly innocent, and his voice on the page is electric, as flowing and rhythmic as his favorite Biggie Smalls songs [...] Kevin's voice, though unique and rife with individual problems, is the voice of anyone who has ever been thirteen."
-- Chicago Literati

"Zero Fade by Chris L. Terry is a personal favorite and one of the best books for younger teens I've read in a long time. The novel is written at a breakneck speed [filled with] with hilarious gems, such as, "Tyrell's crew had been held back so many times that they were bigger than the teachers."
-- Any Cheney, Reaching Reluctant Readers

About the Author

Chris L. Terry lives in Chicago where he teaches writing and theatre to juvenile inmates. Growing up in Richmond, VA, he spent his teens and early twenties touring the world in a punk band. He has a Fiction Writing MFA from Columbia College Chicago. Zero Fade is his first novel. Excerpts have appeared in Chicago Reader, Curbside Splendor, Hair Trigger, and Trilling Magazine. His website is ChrisLTerry.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Curbside Splendor Pub
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0988480433
• ISBN 13: 9780988480438
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 295