Winner of the Pura Belpré Award and Walter Dean Myers Award for Young Adult Literature! Saints of the Household is a haunting contemporary YA about an act of violence in a small-town--beautifully told by a debut Indigenous Costa Rican-American writer--that will take your breath away. Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down. But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, instinct takes over and they intervene, breaking up a fight and beating their high school's star soccer player to a pulp. This act of violence threatens the brothers' dreams for the future and their beliefs about who they are. As the true details of that fateful afternoon unfold over the course of the novel, Max and Jay grapple with the weight of their actions, their shifting relationship as brothers, and the realization that they may be more like their father than they thought. They'll have to reach back to their Bribri roots to find their way forward. Told in alternating points of view using vignettes and poems, debut author Ari Tison crafts an emotional, slow-burning drama about brotherhood, abuse, recovery, and doing the right thing. Gr 8 Up-A heartrending, contemporary debut novel about the repercussions of trauma and the healing power of family and art. Bribri American brothers Jay and Max (who are Indigenous Costa Rican) are reeling from the act of physical violence they perpetrated against the town's beloved soccer star. When they witnessed Luca stepping angrily toward their cousin Nicole and forcefully grabbing her arm in the Minnesota woods, the brothers instinctively beat him up. They've experienced physical abuse at the hands of their father and witnessed him doing the same to their mother. Max finds refuge in his art and a budding romance, while Jay burrows deeply into himself, occasionally finding respite in Nicole and his grandfather, who shares his love of reading and nature. However, the brothers become estranged. The chapters in this ruminative, dual perspective work are short. Jay's are written in prose vignettes; Max's are done in spare free verse. Tison's (Bribri) masterly economy of language-every word and even punctuation mark is chosen for a specific purpose-presents this compelling story of a family smashed to pieces by violence. The novel searingly depicts PTSD's strong hold-how every aspect of life is dictated by the fear of where the next fist is going to land, and how living so deeply in that circle of pain permeates every aspect of one's identity. Their problems aren't solved, but the siblings find peace in their small victories. Nicole is Anishinaabe, and Luca has some Mexican heritage. VERDICT Violence can be inherited but so can love and forgiveness. This vulnerable and magnetic tale of brotherhood belongs on every shelf.-Shelley M. Diazα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Pura Belpré Award Winner Walter Award Winner for Young Adult Literature A YALSA William C. Morris Award Finalist Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Winner Américas Book Award Winner for Young Adult Literature A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year A Chicago Public Library Best of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year An Amazon Best Book of the Year So Far An Amazon Best Book of the Month YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults TLA Tayshas Reading List Selection Notable Books for a Global Society Selection Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Title A Bank Street Best Book of the Year International Literacy Association Honor Book Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee "In this striking, assured debut exhibiting a measured pace and delicate writing, Tison (Bribri) probes the ties of adolescent brotherhood and ways the effects of violence can stall self-directed growth... Remarkably compelling." ― Kirkus Reviews, starred review " Tison’s writing is staggering... Structurally and substantively, this book is an elegiac triumph that puts the human heart in the reader’s hands." ― The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review "A heartrending, contemporary debut novel about the repercussions of trauma and the healing power of family and art. ... Violence can be inherited but so can love and forgiveness. This vulnerable and magnetic tale of brotherhood belongs on every shelf." ― School Library Journal, starred review "The story itself is a quiet, soulful exploration of how young men process the often-stark realities they live in. The character notes are subtle and nuanced." ― Booklist Ari Tison is a Bribri (Indigenous Costa Rican) American and African descended poet and storyteller. Her p