Suicide, Death & Bereavement

Simon likes girls, weekends and enjoys mucking about and playing practical jokes, but what's different is that Simon has muscular dystrophy - he's in a wheelchair and doesn't have long to live. See Ya Simon is told by Simon's best friend,

Kwame Alexander's New York Times bestseller and Newbery Medal-winning The Crossover is vividly brought to life as a graphic novel

Powerful YA fiction about a teenager coming to terms with the suicide of her sister. Tara, the main character, is a blossoming painter who loves the work of Vincent Van Gogh, and his story is used as a counterpoint to her own. It is also a novel about the power of love, and how t...he acquisition of inner peace requires forgiveness of ourselves and others. 17 year old Tara McClusky's life is hard. She shares the care of her paralysed father with her domineering, difficult mother, forced to cut down on her hours at school to help support the family with a part-time rest home job. She's very much alone, still grieving the loss of her older sister Van, who died five years before. Her only source of consolation is her obsession with art and painting in particular. Most especially she is enamoured with Vincent Van Gogh: has read all his letters and finds many parallels between the tragic story of his life and her own. Luckily she meets the intelligent, kindly Professor Max Stockhamer (Jewish refugee and philosopher) and his grandson Johannes, and their support is crucial to her ability to survive this turbulent time.
Read more

From the New York Times-bestselling author Kwame Alexander comes a stunning coming-of-age novel in verse about basketball, family and staying true to yourself. A prequel to The Crossover, winner of the Newbery Medal, and follow-up to Booked, highly commended for the CLiPPA prize ...and nominated for the Carnegie Medal.
Read more

The acclaimed author of Where the Watermelons Grow is back with a story perfect for fans of Lynda Mullaly Hunt and Ali Benjamin, about finding friendship after a tragic loss. It's been eighty-three days since Annie Lee's daddy died, but she still sees reminders of him everywhere.... His record player mysteriously plays his favorite songs, there's shaving cream in the sink every morning, and the TV keeps flipping to the Duke basketball games he loved. She knows Mama notices it too, but Mama's been working around the clock to make ends meet. To make matters worse, Annie Lee's friends ditched her over the summer. She feels completely alone--until she meets Mitch. Though Mitch is tough and confident on the outside, she may need a friend just as badly as Annie Lee. But after losing so much, Annie Lee is afraid to let anyone get too close. And Mitch isn't the only friend trying to break through Annie Lee's defenses. Ray, an elderly pianist who plays at a local mall, has been giving her piano lessons. His music is pure magic, and Annie Lee hopes it might be the key to healing her broken heart. But when Ray goes missing, searching for him means breaking a promise to Mitch. Faced with once again losing those who mean the most to her, Annie Lee must make a choice: retreat back into her shell, or risk admitting how much she needs Mitch and Ray--even if it means getting hurt all over again. Just like in her debut, Where the Watermelons Grow, Cindy Baldwin brings her signature twist of magic to this authentically heartfelt story.
Read more