This is an important young adult novel. Set in rural East Tennessee, it depicts a friendship between two teens. Libby is from a family that believes in the “quiverfull” lifestyle of evangelical Christians who are in the process of producing a quiver full of children who will be “God’s righteous warriors.” Zo, her neighbor, is from a socialist, feminist, vegetarian, back-to-the-land family. “Julia Watts is a natural-born storyteller, and in her latest novel she has quite a story to tell. In its empathic and even-handed focus on the unlikely friendship between two teens whose families are on opposite sides of the religious/political spectrum, Quiver is a necessary book that’s both of and for these terrible times.” ―Robin Lippincott. “This is a wonderful story of friendship between two young people who are seeking their place within a world that is constantly changing, sometimes not for the better. For anyone who has felt “different,” Watts’s novel will be ultimately relatable.” - VOYA Magazine. "Quiver is an amazing, heartfelt book with a powerful lesson to share. Nearly all young adults feel judged or excluded at some point in their lives; this story will help anyone, no matter their situation, see that acceptance is possible.” ―Foreword Reviews. “This just may be the perfect book for our times, when acknowledgement of common ground and empathy are sorely needed.” ―New York Journal of Books. Julia Watts is a native of Southeastern Kentucky now living in Knoxville and on the faculty of South College and Murray State University’s low-residency MFA Program. Her thirteen novels for both the youth and trade markets have won multiple Lambda Awards.
New York: Three Rooms Press, 2018. 289 pages. Trade paperback