Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Benedis-Grab
Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Benedis-Grab, graduate, the MFA in Creative Writing at The New School
HarperTeen, 2008Publisher’s Weekly: Grab sets her debut novel in a sleepy upstate New York town (named, ironically, after the sophisticated Czech capital to which it bears no resemblance), where Manhattan native Matisse Osgood and her family relocate after her father’s Parkinson’s disease worsens. Embittered by the move, Matisse is often judgmental, and her preconceived ideas of country living prevent her from appreciating the new surroundings. Her new high school presents a cast of familiar characters: angsty outcast Violet, popular but goodhearted Marco, cruel cheerleader Jennifer and overalls-wearing but intellectual Hal, whom Matisse summarily dubs “the hick.” When Jenni fer spreads a vicious rumor about Matisse’s dad, Matisse must confide in those she initially dismissed.