On a passage of self-discovery, a young woman tries to determine the nature of identity. Is it her sexuality, her race, or something entirely unknown? Olivia Boler"s debut novel, YEAR OF THE SMOKE GIRL, explores these questions in a refreshing coming-of-age story. Khatia learns at her mother"s deathbed that she has a name and heritage she does not yet know. Her father, too broken over his lost love and his sins against her for which he can not atone, is unable to help his daughter. At the same time, he can not keep her or her brother from discovering a secret about their family. In a story that takes the reader from New England"s suburbs to the cosmopolitan cities of Amsterdam and Paris, and finally to San Francisco, Khatia unravels the family secret that will help her find out who she is and who she wants to be. Gary Snyder describes YEAR OF THE SMOKE GIRL as a "dense weave in the cross-cultural multi-racial world of complex, educated hip contemporary coast-to-coast America...Boler"s SMOKE GIRL is a fine first novel, rich in paradox and detail." OTHER PRAISE FOR SMOKE GIRL: "A lively and compelling read!" --Sandra Gilbert, author of WRONGFUL DEATH: A MEMOIR "Quick. Witty. I could not put the book down. Boler has a way of storytelling that everyone should experience." --Phillip Tomasso III, author of MIND PLAY