The Vast Fields of Ordinary »

Critically acclaimed author Nick Burd received his MFA from the New School and currently works for PEN American Center, the oldest literary human rights organization in the world. His debut novel THE VAST FIELDS OF ORDINARY was published in May 2009 by Dial Books for Young Readers and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and BookList. The New York Times Sunday Book Review hailed the title as "fascinating and dreamy" and "the best kind of first novel." The New York Times also named this debut a Notable Book of 2009. In 2010, THE VAST FIELDS OF ORDINARY won the American Library Association's inaugural Stonewall Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature.

It's Dade's last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a “boyfriend” who won't publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade's shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away.

Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet—and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he's gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future.

The New York Times - Ned Vizzini

…fascinating and dreamy…The Vast Fields of Ordinary reads like the best kind of first novel—it's packed with insights that might have been carried around for years, just waiting to come out.