"Love Letters to the Dead" by: Ava Dellaira
Poignant and relatable, this young adult novel details teenage Laurel’s attempt to work through her grief after the loss of her sister May. Interwoven with Laurel’s letters to dead icons like Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earheart and Janis Joplin, this story beautifully captures the heartache of loss – at both her own and any age.
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"In the Unlikely Event" by: Judy Blume
Blume’s most recent work of historical fiction follows 15-year-old Miri Ammerman as well as her friends, family and neighbors as they deal with the tragedy of three plane crashes in their small town of Elizabeth, New Jersey in the span of a year. Blume expertly interlaces each of the characters together, breathing life and complication into their relationships with one another and themselves in the wake of catastrophe.
"All the Bright Places" by: Jennifer Niven
You will not be able to put this book down. A short but affecting read about two teenagers, Violet Markey and Theodore Finch, as they grapple with their demons: Violet’s recent loss and Finch’s crippling manic depression. The book begins with the two standing on the ledge of a bell tower, both contemplating whether or not to jump. Niven keeps readers on that ledge – figuratively, of course – nearly the whole book, teetering these two on the cusp of their breaking points as they try to hold on together.
"The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo" by: Amy Schumer
Comedian Amy Schumer’s recently published autobiography is more than just a bunch of jokes. Full of surprising depth and introspection, Schumer covers topics ranging from gun violence to sexual assault to her father’s multiple sclerosis. It has its funny moments, as expected, but it makes you think and provides more perspective on Schumer more than anything else.
"All the Light We Cannot See" by: Anothony Doerr
Blind Marie-Laure LeBlanc’s father is a locksmith at Paris’ Museum of Natural History in occupied France, entrusted with one of the museum's most precious jewels. Werner Pfennig is a German orphan whose recognized intellect eventually leads him to work for the Nazi’s as a radio transmitter. Written in stunning, virtually poetic prose, Doerr follows these two characters’ maturation through the span of the deadly World War II, before they inevitably meet in 1944. Heartbreaking and compelling, this dense novel is a must-read.
