About This Book
Reach for this book when your teen is grappling with their family identity or feeling disconnected from their roots after a loss. Sarah Dessen offers a sophisticated look at the way history and class shape our sense of self, following seventeen year old Emma Saylor as she spends a summer with the maternal side of her family she barely remembers. It is a deeply moving exploration of the long shadow of addiction and the restorative power of reconnecting with ones heritage. This novel is ideal for older teens due to its honest handling of a mother's fatal overdose and the resulting grief. Parents will appreciate how the story models the importance of reconciling different versions of oneself to become a whole person.
