Radiant Days

A captivating young adult novel about the transformative nature of art and its power to transcend time.

“An impressive blend of biography and magical realism.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Vibrant . . . Explores the meaning and making of art, and the intensity of being young.”—BookPage

She is a painter. He is a poet. Their art bridges time.

It is 1978. Merle is in her first year at the Corcoran School of Art, catapulted from her impoverished Appalachian upbringing into a sophisticated, dissipated art scene.

It is also 1870. The teenage poet Arthur Rimbaud is on the verge of breaking through to the images and voice that will make his name.

The meshed power of words and art thins the boundaries between the present and the past—and allows these two troubled, brilliant artists to enter each other's worlds.