The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan is a coming-of-age story that follows teenager Leigh Chen Sanders as she deals with the aftermath of her mother’s suicide. Shortly after her mother’s death, Leigh believes that she has been visited by her mother- in the form of a bird. She is convinced that she will be able to see her once again if she journeys to Taiwan to meet her grandparents.
It’s been a while since Lydia’s mother died, but Lydia still finds herself reeling from the impact of the life-changing event. Following the plan that she made with her mother, Lydia uproots to her Aunt Brat’s Connecticut farm, where she finds two more adults — Eileen (Aunt Brat’s good-humored wife) and Elloroy (their quirky live-in landlord) — waiting for her with open arms. Lydia struggles to become accustomed to her new family, and the big yellow dog that her aunt adopted just days after her arrival isn’t helping either.
Emory, a high school girl, was in a fatal car accident with her brother, Joey. The car accident ending up killing a friend of hers, Candy Mont Claire. Everything seems different after the accident— her friends are different, her life is different, and she feels like a different person. Now she must navigate her life and find out who she really became.
While trying to drive back to her home, Rose Colter gets stuck in the Nevada Desert. Suddenly, her radio starts playing her deceased friend’s voice. She decides to follow a light that leads her to the town of Lotus Valley. There she discovers that she will cause a flood in three days due to a prophecy. Does Rose stop the flood? What will happen next? Read more to find out!
The Ghosts We Keep is a heartbreaking story that contains realistic scenes of death, love, and healing. Liam’s brother, Ethan, was killed in a hit and run. While the family grieves over the death of Ethan, Liam struggles with maintaining relationships with friends and dealing with grief. He seeks comfort in Ethan’s best friend, Marcus, and learns secrets about Ethan that weren’t known when he was alive. Though this book is contains tons of tragedy, it will leave you feeling empowered at the end.
Emily, a strong and determined girl, used to be gifted with luck, until her mother died from cancer. Now, three years later, her bad luck doesn’t seem to stop. Until she and her new friend Blake, find a bucket list that had belonged to Emily’s mom. They both decide to go on an emotional adventure filled with love, fear and acceptance hoping to complete the bucket list. Do Emily and Blake complete their mission? Read more to find out!
Karou finally knows who she is. She knows about her past life as Madrigal of the Kirin, executed for loving the enemy. But she also knows about Akiva’s betrayal and the suffering he has wrought upon her people and her world. Now, as the war between the Chimaera and the Seraphim explodes, Karou joins Thiago, the White Wolf, in crafting an army meant to inspire fear and bring destruction. Yet two questions remain unanswered: how far is Karou willing to go to protect her people — and is she even still one of them?
Love and Gelato is about a young girl named Lina, who just lost her mom. Before her mom passed, she urged Lina to live with an old friend of hers in Florence, Italy. Lina was obviously hesitant about it, but she decided to go anyway. She discovers more about her mom's past than she ever thought possible. Her mom was gone, but it felt like she was right there with her. Plus, Lina meets the cute and sweet Lorenzo and they become fast friends, maybe even more.
Logan, Shay, and Autumn are struggling. Each struck by the loss of someone they love, they’re unsure how to move forward. Music, the passion that once linked them, now brings back memories they’d rather forget. And they’ve turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms that leave them more and more alone. But while these characters seem buried by grief, they aren’t lost forever. As the story progresses, each comes to terms with the tragedy they’ve faced, building the courage to ask for help and slowly returning to music as an outlet for the hurt they feel.
The book How to Make Friends with the Dark, by Kathleen Glasgow, is a realistic fiction novel. The main character, Tiger, has an unbreakable bond with her mother. Their mother-daughter relationship is deep and understanding, with a few quirks. Everything changes for Tiger when her mom unexpectedly dies. After Tiger loses the person she loves the most, her life goes into shambles. As the book narrates on, changing from first person point of view to second, we see how Tiger’s emotions play out.
