American Ace - Hardcover

by Marilyn Nelson (Author)

In this eloquent first novel in verse by renowned poet Marilyn Nelson, a boy embraces his newfound genealogy and his surprising connection to American history.

"A quietly powerful story about race, ignorance, and identity from a poetry master."--Bustle

"Stunning."--Shelf Awareness

"A gorgeous story that stays with you long after you finish."--BuzzFeed

Connor's grandmother leaves his dad a letter when she dies, and the letter's confession shakes their tight-knit Italian American family: The man who raised Dad is not his birth father.

But the only clues to this birth father's identity are a class ring and a pair of pilot's wings. And so Connor takes it upon himself to investigate--a pursuit that becomes even more pressing when Dad is hospitalized after a stroke. What Connor discovers will lead him and his father to a new, richer understanding of race, identity, and each other.

Author Biography

Marilyn Nelson is a three-time National Book Award finalist, has won a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and several Coretta Scott King Honors, and has received several prestigious poetry awards, including the Poets' Prize and the Robert Frost Medal "for distinguished lifetime service to American poetry." Her most recent book, How I Discovered Poetry, was named a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book and an ALA Notable Children's Book.