Reimagining Dickens' David Copperfield for the modern age, Barbara Kingsolver spins a bildungsroman rich in characterisation and grand narrative set pieces.

"First I got myself born." And so begins the tale of Demon Copperhead: a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, bucket-loads of charm, and a talent or two the world is yet to discover. Demon's journey takes him through the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, the dizzying highs of true love, and the crushing losses that can accompany it.

Inspired by the unflinching truth-telling of David Copperfield, Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon is the voice of a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.