SETTING FREE THE KITES has a rich panoply of themes and eccentricities: One boy obsessed with getting off the ground, another learning to fly from his own insecurities; two families struggling to overcome their tragedies; muscular dystrophy, roller coasters, literary dreams, bullying, punk rock, and a mongoose named for Philippe Petit, the man who walked across a wire between the World Trade Center towers. With literary sleight of hand, George immerses readers in a time that feels at once nostalgic and immediate. A story of unintended consequences, the novel draws its power and poignancy from a quiet honesty that speaks to every coming‐of‐age experience.



About SETTING FREE THE KITES:

Robert Carter has lived in the small town of Haverford, Maine, all of his life. His father owns the local

amusement park that brings the off‐the‐beaten‐track town to life each summer. On the first day of eighth grade, Robert is braced once again to endure the physical bullying of his nemesis, but life changes when a new boy in town, Nathan Tilly, rises to his defense. Recently arrived from Texas, Nathan is as fearless and impetuous as Robert is cautious, and the opposites are soon fast friends. Not long after, tragedy strikes Nathan’s family, and the bond between the two boys grows even stronger in the face of life‐changing events that neither could have anticipated at so young an age.



Robert’s family has its own cross to bear: his older brother, Liam, is slowly succumbing to degenerative

muscular dystrophy. Though he eschews pity through his fierce independence and devotion to his beloved rock and roll bands, Liam nonetheless has drawn most of the attention and emotional resources of the family away from Robert. With Nathan by his side, however, Robert for the first time begins to witness the possibilities of life. Nathan, like his father before him, is obsessed with kites and flying, and his unfettered need to escape gravity’s pull will culminate in a moment of liberation both exhilarating and dangerous.