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The Kingdom of Childhood is the story of a boy and a woman: sixteen-year-old Zach Patterson, uprooted and struggling to reconcile his knowledge of his mother's extramarital affair, and Judy McFarland, a kindergarten teacher watching her family unravel before her eyes. Thrown together to organize a fundraiser for their failing private school and bonded by loneliness, they begin an affair that at first thrills, then corrupts, each of them. Judy sees in Zach the elements of a young man she loved when she was only a child. But what Zach does not realize is that - for Judy - their relationship is only the latest in a lifetime of disturbing secrets.
"It's dark, fast-moving, and, for the most part, nicely creepy with a solid noirish vibe." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Coleman's debut novel is a disturbing yet enthralling read that attempts to illustrate why a teacher might decide to begin a sexual relationship with a student." - Library Journal
"A gutsy debut novel... nimbly exploring such hot-button issues as the abuse of power, betrayal of trust, and predatory nature of sexual obsession, it is poised to generate major book-group buzz." - Booklist
"Wow, what a book! The story just spirals, and I completely got caught up in the madness." - BookReporter
This information about The Kingdom of Childhood was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Rebecca Coleman grew up in the close suburbs of Washington, D.C., in an academic family. A year spent in Germany, at the age of eight, would later provide the basis for the protagonist's background in The Kingdom of Childhood. After studying elementary education for several years at the University of Maryland, she graduated with a degree in English, awarded with honors. She lives in suburban Maryland with her husband and their four young children. Visit her online at www.rebeccacoleman.net.
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