Schroder, Monika. Be Light Like A Bird.

Schroder, Monika.  Be Light Like A Bird.  Capstone Publishers  2017  240p  $25.99  ISBN 978-1-4965 3301-2  ms/jr  Realistic fiction VG-BN

When Wren’s father dies in a plane crash, her mother ineffectively deals with her grief by junking all of his things and sets out to find a better place to live. (“Any place but here.”) After attending three new schools in less than a year, 12-year-old Wren puts her foot down and tells her mother they must settle down. At the school in Pyramid, Wren is the odd person out. She tries to fit into the popular crowd but quickly realizes that she is not accepted. Another misfit, Theo, becomes her partner on an English debate project.  She begins to realize that she and Theo make a good pair, as both become deeply involved in saving an untouched pond, home to many species of birds and wildlife, from being filled in for an expansion of the local landfill. The extended cast of quirky characters helps Wren and Theo, on the project as well as offering sage advice on life.  The local conservation effort is seamlessly brought into the plot, with school and community conflicts presented realistically. The novel does not necessarily have a happy-ever-after ending, but it is an ending that is filled with hope for the future for Wren, her mother, Theo, and his father. The author contrasts the metaphors of  being light as a bird (who has a direction and goals) versus light as a feather (that just floats), lending a unique view of how to live life. A novel to be cherished.  Recommended for all middle school students as the conservation subplot keeps the story of grief and its effects on characters from becoming too heavy.

Summary: When Wren’s father dies, her mother ineffectively deals with their grief. Three new schools in less than a year is difficult. Wren becomes active in an effort to save a pond from being bulldozed into a landfill. Excellent writing. Characters well drawn. Gr. 5-8.           

Grief-Fiction, Conservation-Fiction                                                                           --Lois McNicol

Federle, Tim. The Great American Whatever.

Federle, Tim.  The Great American Whatever.     Simon & Schuster/ 2016  288p  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-4814-0409-9      hs/adult      Realistic fiction   E-BN           

Quinn is grieving hard for his sister Annabeth, who died in a car accident six months ago. His father left and his mother won’t leave the house, eat right, pay the bills, or move on in any way. Quinn’s best friend, Geoff, wants Quinn to get his life back and takes him to a party here Quinn meets Amir, the first man he can honestly say is his type. Throughout the story, Quinn puts some of his thoughts into screenplays, something he and Annabeth worked on together, he wrote and she directed ... but now that is gone. After being out in the world, Quinn discovers some things about Annabeth and what was really happening in her life that turn him around. Quinn and Geoff have a great relationship, as do Quinn and his mother, and the witty banter sounds genuine and heart-felt, even when people are not happy with one another. Readers will cheer for Quinn and hope for his recovery from such a tragedy.  This would be highly recommended for high-school libraries as there is language and sexual scenes, but they fit right into the story and add to it greatly.     

Summary: Quinn lost his sister in a car accident six months ago and hasn’t left the house since. His best friend, Geoff, is determined to get him back into the swing of life and starts by taking him to a college party with his sister Carly, where Quinn meets Amir, the first man he finds himself attracted to.

Grief-Fiction, Homosexuality-Fiction                              --Erin Daley

Second Star.

Sheinmel, Alyssa B.  Second Star.  Macmillan/Farrar Strauss  2014  250p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-374-38267-4  hs   Realistic fiction     VG-BN

This is a unique story of grief, loss and love that pays homage to the classic Peter Pan story of lost boys.  Wendy refuses to accept that the disappearance of her twin brothers while surfing means they are dead.  Her parents have accepted the police report that the brothers could not have survived the wave that washed up their broken surf boards many months ago. Wendy adopts a mission to find her brothers before summer’s end.  She encounters Pete who lives in an abandoned house on the ocean with a few other surfer dudes.  A rival surfer, Jas, has taken over a neighboring house but is known to sell a heady drug named “dust” to surfers.  Wendy’s loyalties and love switch from Pete to Jas as she travels the coastline looking for people who may have known her brothers.  The joy of surfing, its dangers and its vagabond lifestyle, and the camaraderie among those who follow the waves are eloquently described.  When Wendy wakes up in a psych ward, she finally accepts that Pete and Jas and their crew were a figment of her imagination, and she becomes grounded enough to start her freshman year at Stanford.  The readers are immersed in her anguished mental state throughout the novel and share her hopes and fears.  The ending is totally unexpected and yet satisfying.  The line between reality and fantasy has never been more narrow.

Summary: After two brothers disappear while surfing, their sister, Wendy, goes in search of them.  While searching, she meets surfers Pete, Belle, and Jas. She comes to wonder if they are hallucinations or if they were real.  Part fantasy, part realistic novel. Gr. 8-12.               

Grief-Fiction, Surfing-Fiction, Peter Pan-Fiction           --Lois McNicol

There Will Come A Time.

Arcos, Carrie.  There Will Come A Time.  Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse  2014   320p  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-4424-9585-2  hs  Realistic fiction VG

Mark is driving with his twin sister Grace as his passenger when a distracted driver crashes into his car.  Grace dies and Mark enters a mental state in which he obsesses over his role in the crash, feels anger at the driver of the other car, and questions how he can live without Grace and survive the emptiness that fills him.  The grief process is a journey unique to each individual, and Mark’s is especially painful because he has lost his twin.  Through friends, especially Hanna, who lives next door, he finds a way to escape his isolation and move toward self-acceptance by fulfilling a bucket list that he and Hanna find in Grace’s journal. This is a poignant look at how death affects family and friends.  The support group, Twinless Twins, actually exists, and it is integral to the plot.  Mark attends a high school for the arts, and his music helps pull him through his grief, as do his friends as they prepare for their senior project, which is a fashion show including music and dance.  

This novel provides a beacon of hope for anyone who has lost a loved one and is trying to cope with sudden loss.  The book’s title says it all.  While Mark is Filipino, his heritage and the cultural diversity of his friends seem more of a throw-in rather than being integral to the plot.  This advance reviewer copy had a spelling error that needs to be changed from “damn” to “dam” so that the reference to the bridge/rock foundation on page 60 is accurately spelled.      

Summary: A distracted driver crashes into Mark’s car and kills his passenger, his twin sister.  The grief process, relationships within family as well as among friends, and how a twin survives the loss of his sibling are realistically portrayed.  Grades 8-12.

Grief-Fiction, Love-Fiction                                 --Lois McNicol