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Book Talk & Signing with Debut Author J.R. Thornton at Trade Route
J.R. Thornton's debut novel, Beautiful Country (Harper Perennial, paperback, $15.99), is a coming-of-age story set in modern day China centering on the friendship between an American and a Chinese boy who meet while training with Beijing's Junior National Tennis Team. You can meet the author at a free book talk and signing on Thursday, July 21st, at 4:00 pm at Trade Route (in the same shopping center as Fiction Addiction).
This event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP to Fiction Addiction or Trade Route if you plan to attend. Books will be available for sale prior to and at the event. Books may be purchased online, at the store, or by calling Fiction Addiction at 864-675-0540.
 Chase Robertson arrives in Beijing as a fourteen-year-old boy still troubled by the recent death of his older brother. He discovers a country in transition; a society in which the dual systems of Communist Era state control and an emerging entrepreneurial culture exist in paradox.
A top ranked junior tennis player in the U.S., Chase joins the practices of the Beijing National Junior Tennis Team and is immersed in the brutal, cut-throat world of Chinese sport. It is a world in which gifted children are selected at the ages of six or seven for specialized sport schools where they devote their entire youth to the pursuit of athletic excellence and are paid as professionals by the state. Athletes find themselves compelled to do anything possible to succeed - right or wrong. Those who fail to reach the pinnacle are cast aside and are left facing a desperate future without hope.
In China, Chase gains access to a culture rarely open to Westerners, and soon finds himself caught up in secrets. When his closest friend and teammate turns to him for help, Chase is faced with the dilemma of what to do when friendship, rules, and morals are in conflict.
A big-hearted debut, Beautiful Country explores a friendship against the backdrop of a quickly changing country.
 About the author:
J.R. Thornton graduated from Harvard in 2014 where he studied history, English, and Chinese. An internationally ranked junior tennis player, he later competed for the Harvard men's team and on the professional circuit. As a teenager he lived in Beijing and will return to China in the fall of 2016 as a member of the inaugural class of Schwarzman Scholars. Beautiful Country is his debut novel.
If you cannot make the event, you can reserve a personalized copy of the author's book by contacting Fiction Addiction in advance at 864-675-0540 or at info@fiction-addiction.com.
ABOUT FICTION ADDICTION
Fiction Addiction is a local, woman-owned, independent bookstore established in 2001. The store carries a mixture of new and used fiction and nonfiction, including children's books, as well as gift items. We are located at 1175 Woods Crossing Road (in the shopping center with Fried Green Tomatoes, Jimmy John's, and Boardwalk). For more information, visit our website at http://www.fiction-addiction.com or call us at 864-675-0540.
ABOUT TRADE ROUTE
Trade Route serves as the Upstate's source for hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind furniture pieces and home accessories found nowhere else. Traveling to Beijing, China, and Chiang Mai, Thailand, several times a year and hand selecting each piece from local markets and vendors ensures owner Sherry Smid and her team place a personal touch on each unique find. Their travels provide much first-hand experience and knowledge of both the local cultures and customs and of the items they're buying, and Sherry and her team have a story for every piece brought back! For more information, visit their website at http://www.traderouteimport.com or call them at 864-234-1514.
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