Taf: A Novel

by Annie Callan

It’s 1915, and Taf is fleeing an abusive home, terrified that she has accidentally killed her stepbrother. Her escape quickly becomes a quest as she sets out to find her long-missing father. Chance and scraps of memory guide her to Pendleton, Oregon. There she meets a boy who hides her, an old woman with second sight, and a beautiful half-Chinese, half–Nez Perce youth. She also faces hard choices: she can follow the inner voice that urges her onward or accept the love of those who care for her, at the price of her dreams. Illuminating the tensions of the period — the rise of the temperance movement, the intolerance shown foreigners — this lyrical, beautifully crafted novel speaks directly to contemporary teenagers balancing their yearnings against the pull of home and family.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 2001