Press Release

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Raven Publishing, Inc. announces the release of Kyleah’s Tree, Janet Muirhead Hill's latest “True Fiction” middle-grade novel chronicling the journey of two runaway kids and the dangers they meet as they travel from Kansas to Canada .

Who hasn’t, at some time in their childhood or adolescence, dreamed of running away from home? Most only threaten such action in a fit of pique, mentally savoring the imagined revenge. In Kyleah’s Tree , eleven-year-old Kyleah Ralston and her foster brother, Benjamin, take this dangerous step. They experience the fear of being caught, many narrow escapes from danger, and the exploitation of predators in this fast-paced, action-packed novel.

Astonishingly, one in seven kids between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away, and there are somewhere between 1 and 3 million runaway and homeless kids living on the streets today. Children soon learn that life on their own is not the romantic adventure they may have imagined. Children who read this book will be able to fulfill any fantasies of running away through the harrowing adventures of Kyleah and Benjamin, while being discouraged from trying it.

Author Hill suggests that a lack of self-esteem is a common underlying force influencing a child to fle e from his or her current situation. As in Kyleah’s case, a belief that they are unloved and unlovable may have been instilled at a very young age when every word and criticism is taken literally and not forgotten. Parents and guardians can better understand the thoughts and feelings that lead a child to run away by reading this book, opening avenues of discussion and thus preventing a runaway situation.   

“True Fiction,” as Raven Publishing, Inc. calls a novel that reflects the real-life issues that today’s kids face, serves a moral purpose without being religious or didactic. The purpose is to give kids an understanding of themselves and others through fictional characters with whom they can relate, and to be encourage them to find their place in their world and community by being true to themselves.

Kyleah’s Tree is available in bookstores and libraries along with other Hill “True Fiction” novels, the Miranda and Starlight six-book series and Danny’s Dragon.

 

	Price $12.00