Tayari Jones

Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon 's two families -- the public one and the secret one. When the two teenage daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode when secrets are revealed and illusions shattered.Tayari Jones is the author of two award-winning novels, Leaving Atlanta and The Untelling. She holds degrees from Spelman College, Arizona State University, and the University of Iowa. She is on the MFA faculty at Rutgers.www.tayarijones.com Recorded On: Monday, June 27, 2011