Demon Copperhead: A Novel

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead follows a boy born to a teenage single mother in a trailer, inheriting only his deceased father's good looks, copper-colored hair, sharp wit, and survival instincts. Told in his own voice, Demon navigates foster care, child labor, failing schools, athletic achievement, addiction, failed relationships, and significant losses while confronting his invisibility in a culture that has abandoned rural communities. Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, transposes Charles Dickens' David Copperfield—written from Dickens' own experience surviving institutional poverty—to contemporary America. Like Dickens, Kingsolver draws on anger and compassion, and faith in storytelling's power to transform. The novel speaks to a new generation of marginalized youth in economically struggling regions.