Ken Cadow -- Gather

Join us for an evening with 2023 National Book Award Finalist in the Young People's Literature division, Ken Cadow.  

Ian Gray isn’t supposed to have a dog, but a lot of things that shouldn’t happen end up happening anyway. And Gather, Ian’s adopted pup, is good company now that Ian has to quit the basketball team, find a job, and take care of his mom as she tries to overcome her opioid addiction. Despite the obstacles thrown their way, Ian is determined to keep his family afloat no matter what it takes. And for a little while, things are looking up: Ian makes friends, and his fondness for the outdoors and for fixing things lands him work helping neighbors. But an unforeseen tragedy results in Ian and his dog taking off on the run, trying to evade a future that would mean leaving their house and their land. Even if the community comes together to help him, would Ian and Gather have a home to return to?  Told in a wry, cautious first-person voice that meanders like a dog circling to be sure it’s safe to lie down, Kenneth M. Cadow’s resonant debut brings an emotional and ultimately hopeful story of one teen’s resilience in the face of unthinkable hardships.

Kenneth M. Cadow is an educator and writer. Gather is his first young adult novel. About this book, he says, “In my teaching career, I have encountered dozens upon dozens of stories like Ian’s: kids whose spirits are threatened to be crushed by societal disregard. The kids who are able to pull through by the ingenuity of their skill set and the strength of their character, as well as the care of their larger communities, are some of the strongest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.” Kenneth Cadow is the father of three remarkable adults and lives with his wife and their dog, Quinnie, in Pompanoosuc, Vermont.