Sarah S. Grossman is a novelist, based in Los Angeles.
Her debut novel is A Fire So Wild — order your copy.
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With the emotional echoes of Little Fires Everywhere and the lush atmosphere of Disappearing Earth, a debut novel in which a wildfire creeps toward Berkeley, California, igniting tensions as characters from all walks of life confront the injustices lying beneath the city’s surface.
“Captivating debut… A gripping page-turner with a surprising twist... The complex characterizations and realistic scenarios converge to
deliver a satisfying punch.”
“Bracing debut novel... balances the social and political, the emotional and physical, with insight and precision… Her disparate characters all hail from different worlds, and it’s a horrific thrill to witness their dramas unfurl and collide.”
Saba Hamedy, culture editor at NBC News
“Riveting from start to finish... Vivid and heartbreaking prose that doesn't shy away from the injustices of our society.”
Jessica Schulberg, senior justice reporter at HuffPost
“A sharp and empathetic look at who gets to rebuild when disaster strikes... A cautionary but hopeful story about the limits of good intentions and incremental reform.”
Chloe Angyal, author of Turning Pointe
“Slender and evocative, and devastatingly observant. The characters hung around my head for days after I finished it.”
"A passionate yet critical observation of the devastating effects of a California wildfire... piercing commentary reveals the inequality and injustices of climate change for people just trying to live their lives."
Charlotte McConaghy, New York Times bestselling author
of Once There Were Wolves
“A complex dissection of the impacts of climate change, with an array of characters who feel true and affecting, A Fire So Wild tackles not only a terrifying natural disaster, but the scorching inequality of the aftermath, and demands that
we don't look away.”
More on A Fire So Wild
As a wildfire threatens Berkeley, the city’s inhabitants are forced to reckon with the cracks in the lives they've built.
Abigail, a wealthy homeowner, decides to throw a lavish birthday in a hillside mansion to raise money for the city’s newest affordable housing project—and prove to her family that she’s made something worthwhile of her life. Sunny, a construction worker who sleeps in a van along the bay’s shore, is in the running for an apartment—but only if enough funds are raised at the party.
As the heat and smoke from the approaching blaze descend upon the town, tensions rise and residents—young and old, haves and have nots—confront the inequities laid bare, and the fragility of building a life in a world on fire.
Alternating among a colorful cast of characters, A Fire So Wild is a timely, tautly paced novel that questions why when everything burns, not everyone is left with scars.