Latitudes Blog Tour: Guest Post

As part of Pump Up Your Book's blog tour, for Latitudes: A Story of Coming Home, I'm happy to be hosting a guest post by the author, Anthony Caplan.

(Follow along on the Latitudes Virtual Book Tour at Pump Up Your Book.)

About the Book

Title: Latitudes: A Story of Coming Home
Author: Anthony Caplan
Release Date: June 2012
Publisher: Hope Mountain Press
Genre: Contemporary Coming-of-Age

A story of one boy overcoming dysfuntion, dislocation and distance…

When Father and Mother, a highflying young American lawyer and his party-hard bride, fall prey to the self-destructive lure of alcohol and sexual liberation, Will and his sisters pay the price in divorce and kidnappings that take them back and forth between the rain forest hideaways of coastal Latin America and the placid suburbs of Long Island. Will identifies with the oppressed workers laboring in his father’s fast food restaurant and longs for American freedom. Father remarries the daughter of a local aristocrat, and Will is sent off to the hothouse world of a New England boarding school.

Swimming in a sea of Fair Isle sweaters and LL Bean boots, Will discovers a core of resilience in himself that allows him to survive, thrive, and ultimately embrace the flawed and varied worlds he inhabits. Will reconnects with his Mother, sinking into a New York City world of Irish bars and one night stands he cannot save her from. With a little help from friends, and a high school Shakespeare class taught by the school’s closeted gay athletic trainer, Will begins to see the possibility of finding his true path. Latitudes charts the birth pangs of a quest for self and soul — from a tropical childhood to a coming of age on the road.

7 Reasons to Read Latitudes

by Anthony Caplan

1. You'll be inspired. Here's an inspirational story of how a boy, Will Kogan, finds his way out of depression and overcomes a family legacy of violence, kidnapping and trauma. It's a story of personal strength and commitment to life, friendship and adventure.
2. You'll laugh. Even in the middle of the worst circumstances, there are moments of laughter and humanity, like the camping trip on the deserted tropical island where the hermit crabs eat all of the Kogan family's food.
3. You'll cry. You will feel what it's like for a child in a broken home. As one critic said about Latitudes, "Caplan presents a marvelous portrayal of a marriage unraveling from the viewpoint of the children." 
4. You'll recognize yourself. Despite its international settings, this is a uniquely American story of an upwardly mobile family in trouble. Will's parents' search for the American Dream takes them all the way to Venezuela, an oil-rich South American nation where Will and his sisters first see the light of day. But the Kogan's story of a family in pain and confusion is happening every day, on every block and every rural road in America.
5. You'll be entertained. Latitudes is a page turner, a compelling book written in what a critic called "language that is smart and poignant.
6. You'll learn. Did you know that a shrimp net is called an atarraya? Based on the true-life experiences of the author growing up in a bicultural family, Latitudes presents a world that is both familiar and new.
7. Your life will be changed forever. A how-to survival guide for children, Latitudes contains life lessons for all ages of readers.

About the Author

Anthony Caplan is an independent writer, teacher and homesteader in northern New England. He has worked at various times as a shrimp fisherman, environmental activist, journalist, taxi-driver, builder, window-washer, and telemarketer. Currently, Caplan is working on restoring a 150 year old farmstead where he and his family tend sheep and chickens, grow most of their own vegetables, and have started a small apple orchard from scratch.

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