Cloud of Witnesses

<p><em><strong>Some glad morning I’ll fly away.</strong></em></p><p>Who cares if he’s “gifted.” Roland Tanner wants to escape his life.</p><p>He’s stuck in a broken-down trailer in the hills with his family the sorriest characters he’s ever met.</p><p>At his new middle school his classmates only see him as a hillbilly.</p><p>He has a secret crush on Patty but so does his friend Hassan the new kid from Iran.</p><p>But then comes the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979. And Roland’s father’s health takes a turn for the worse while he’s away in jail.</p><p>Will Roland accept the cloud of witnesses—the saints and sinners all around him—and realize that his future can be whatever he makes it?</p><p>Perfect for fans of Erin Entrada Kelly Sharon Creech Cynthia Rylant and Firoozeh Dumas <em>Cloud of Witnesses</em> is a poignant humorous book about coming of age in the foothills of the Appalachians.</p><blockquote><p>"Weaving fiction and historical events together this book made me laugh and cry. The characters jump off the page. A great read for all middle school students.” — Marilee Amodt M.S.Ed. long-time Middle School Curriculum Resource Teacher</p></blockquote>