Official website of author Watt Key

Albert Watkins Key, Jr., publishing under the name Watt Key, is an award-winning southern fiction author. He grew up and currently lives in southern Alabama with his wife and family. Watt spent much of his childhood hunting and fishing the forests of Alabama which inspired his debut novel, ALABAMA MOON, published to national acclaim in 2006. ALABAMA MOON won the 2007 E.B. White Read-Aloud Award, the 2006 Parent's Choice Gold Award and has been translated into seven languages. The companion novel, DIRT ROAD HOME, was published in 2010. Key is currently working on his third novel, FOURMILE, due out in 2012.

"Excellent. A terrific choice for reluctant readers." --Starred, Booklist

"An unusual coming-of-age story." --The New York Times Book Review

"A winningly fresh look at life and culture almost never seen in children's books." —The Horn Book

"Key writes honestly about hunting, trapping and the hardships of survival in this rather unusual coming-of-age story." —Kirkus Reviews

"Well written with a flowing style, plenty of dialogue, and lots of action." --School Library Journal

"Absorbing." --Publishers Weekly

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"The tension, positioning, threats, and shifting alliances among the boys are believable and will hook readers." –School Library Journal

"Key nicely paces his tale, steadily building the tension . . . . There's more than enough action to keep the fidgitiest adolescent boy glued to the page here." –Mobile Press-Register

"With authentic characters and a candid first-person narrative, Key's story offers a disturbing appraisal of life in a juvenile facility, and a riveting battle for justice." –Publishers Weekly

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