Strum

     There are many ties that bind, and as many walls that divide. Music and deafness. Race and war. Love and unending time. Strum weaves together each element into a larger human tapestry of light and shadow, where a combination of fate and decision can define a family's legacy.     Bernard, a deaf young woodworker, is drawn into an old growth forest in rural Québec. Summoned there by the spirits of his Iroquois and European great-grandparents, he witnesses a colossal 800-year-old cedar fall literally at his feet, and nearly loses his life salvaging a portion of the great tree to craft two guitars worthy of the music he hears.      Across two centuries and four continents, this tale of family, spirits, and music, paints upon the world's large canvas an intimate story of enduring love and how the mysterious forces that divide us can also bring us together.     "Young's debut novel delights the reader in a mesmerizing story you can't stop reading. Definitely a page turner!" ~ F. Vargas, American Library Associationargas, American Library Association