Fathers, sons, and the war that comes between them. 

 

There's nothing Josh, Cody, and Gordon want more than their fathers home safely from the war in Iraq -- unless it's to get out of their dead-end town.  Refresh, Refresh is the story of three teenagers on the cusp of high school graduation and their struggle to make hard decisions with no role models to follow; to discover the possibilities for the future when all the doors are slamming in their faces; and to believe their fathers will come home alive so they can be boys again. 

Praise

"A resonant, slow-building tale of the boys—or men, in the eyes of the armed forces—left behind, and senselessly left fatherless, by war." -- Booklist

 

"Disturbing and intense . . . a thoughtful examination into these very contemporary characters’ psyches." -- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author(s)

By Danica Novgorodoff, James Ponsoldt and Benjamin Percy

Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Danica Novgorodoff is a writer, painter, photographer, and comics artist who now lives in New York City where she works as a graphic designer for First Second Books.  She has also worked as a horse trainer in Virginia, an assistant to photographer Sally Mann, and an artist review writer for galleries in Chelsea and SoHo.  In 2006 she won the Isotope Award for her mini-comic, A Late Freeze, which was later nominated for an Eisner award.  Her last book was the graphic novel Slow Storm, which was a New York Magazine Best Graphic Novel of 2008. 

 

Benjamin Percy's story, Refresh, Refresh, was first published in the Paris Review and is included in Best American Short Stories 2006.

 

James Ponsoldt is a writer and director. His first feature film, Off the Black, premiered at Sundance in 2006.