Avalon Av Nell Zink

<p>Bran¿s Southern California upbringing is anything but traditional. After her mother abandons her and joins a Buddhist colony, Bran is raised by her ¿common-law stepfather¿ on Bourdon Farms ¿ a plant nursery that doubles as a cover for a biker gang. She spends her days tending plants, slogging through high school and imagining what life could be if she had been born to a different family.<br><br>Then she meets Peter ¿ a charming, troubled college student from the East Coast ¿ who launches his teaching career by initiating her into the world of art. The two begin a seemingly doomed long-distance relationship as Bran searches for meaning in her own surroundings. She knows how to survive, but now she must learn how to live.<br><b><br>''<i>Avalon</i> observes beautifully the shifting terrain of teenage intimacy: its intensity and its fragility . . . it¿s a hilarious, heartbreaking and ¿ of course ¿ extremely weird novel.'' <i>Sunday Times</i></b></p>