SOMEWHERE IN BLUE

Sixteen-year-old Sandy Rawlins, depressed and skipping school after her father’s recent death from cancer, can’t help but notice that her mother, Vivian, is eager to get rid of his possessions and move on with her life too quickly. Her best friend, Lennie Finn, abandoned by her father and longing for a real family, is angry and wishes her mother, Teresa, would stop living in the past and picking up younger, abusive men in bars. Quiet, eloquent storytelling depicts how these four strong women from Toronto battle back from loss together in this multilayered debut novel. While Sandy finds her first love in the middle of grief and contemplation of suicide, Lennie realizes that her family has been by her side all along, Vivian drops her cold façade and learns to share her grief with her daughter and Teresa confronts the truth behind her seemingly idyllic past and finally accepts responsibility for her mistakes. A poignant celebration of friendship and the mother/daughter bond that will appeal to teen and adult readers alike. (Fiction. 14 & up)