Overview

A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A wondrous, deeply affecting portrait of the interlocking lives at an adult day care center in Southern California, depicting an often overlooked community with extraordinary wit and grace—“an explosive novel” (Ron Charles) by a major new literary voice hailed as a “groundbreaking debut novelist” (Publishers Weekly) “[A] singular debut novel.”—The New York Times “Triumphant . . . funny and moving and ringing with life.”—The Guardian “Implosive and wonderfully inspirational.”—Paul Beatty “Great characters, great pace, great story—reading Upward Bound is a complicated joy.”—Roddy Doyle “It will change the way you look at the world.”—Angie Kim “A moving, illuminating glimpse into a world we rarely have access to.”—Good Housekeeping “Woody Brown accomplishes the seemingly impossible.”—Mona Simpson “This captivating work illuminates a world too often ignored.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) A Most Anticipated Book: The New York Times, Time, Harper’s Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire, Alta Journal, Publishers Weekly, Literary Hub, Publishers Lunch Upward Bound is not a place anyone dreams of spending their days. The dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles’s disabled community is, for many of its clients and staff, a place of last resort. This includes Carlos, a young aide who lost his mother as a boy and now works there alongside his beloved sister, Mariana; Jorge, the gentle nonspeaking giant whom Carlos seeks to befriend (and prevent from escaping); Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy who pines for Ann, the summer lifeguard at the center’s pool who feels out of her depth. Then there’s Dave, Upward Bound’s director, who came to L.A. to pursue an acting career but now channels his passion into staging an overly ambitious holiday show starring the center’s irrepressible clients. Framing these intertwined narratives—and connecting them in surprising, shattering ways—is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers. In Upward Bound, Woody Brown has created an indelible, authentic, and profoundly moving group portrait of autism and other disabilities, all illuminated by his empathy, sly sense of humor, and enormous gifts as a novelist. With remarkable sophistication, insight, and creativity, Brown depicts a community too-often invisible in literature and society. Filled with characters you won’t soon forget, Upward Bound will inspire and touch you, teaching you as much about yourself as the tender, miraculous world behind the center’s doors.

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9780593979976

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Reviews

“A wondrous and distinctly brilliant debut novel, Upward Bound gives us the world from the perspective of someone rarely noticed or understood, who in turn understands and notices most everyone. Generous, witty, expansive, and insightful, this novel is an unparalleled achievement and a treasure.”—Rivka Galchen “Upward Bound offers an illuminating chronicle from inside the world of adult daycare for so-called disabled adults, many of whom cannot speak. Woody Brown accomplishes the seemingly impossible: He gives voice to a character with a sensibility both intelligent, ironic, and loveable, who cannot himself speak.”—Mona Simpson “[A] groundbreaking debut novelist.”—Publishers Weekly

Author Information

In 2022, Woody Brown became the first nonspeaking autistic graduate of UCLA, where he received the English department’s top writing honors. Brown completed his MFA in creative writing at Columbia University in 2024. He lives in Los Angeles and is working on a second novel.

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