The Willow Tree is a novel written by Hubert Selby, Jr.[1] and was published in 1998.

It was Selby's first novel in twenty years, since 1978's Requiem for a Dream.

The protagonist is a thirteen-year-old African-American boy named Bobby who lives in an apartment in South Bronx with his mother and siblings.

Bobby's Hispanic girlfriend Maria often spend time together and have plans for the upcoming summer.

Maria, unable to cope with the mutilation of her face caused by the lye, commits suicide.