I’m resurrecting my “Five Finds” series, in which I highlight five books on a given topic. Previous entries in the series include Five Finds – Picky Eaters, Five Finds – Poverty in Picture Books, Five Finds – Interactive Picture Books and Five Finds – Fiction for Budding Cupcake Moguls. It’s a fun series to work on, and I hope it’s helpful! You can find all previous Five Finds posts by clicking on the BOOKS heading on the front page of this blog.
This time around we’re tackling a bit of a sad topic – novels for tweens and younger teens that deal with loss and grief. In an ideal world, young people would be sheltered from these kinds of painful events, but since we don’t live in an ideal world, books that tackle this sad theme can be deeply therapeutic for children dealing with grief. Even children who haven’t experienced the loss of a loved one can find comfort in stories about young people surviving intense challenges and coming out stronger in the end. I tried to select books that deal with different kinds of loss – the loss of a parent, sibling, or friend – and that explore different expressions of grief, from sadness, to denial, to anger and rage. Grief is an intensely personal process that no two people experience in the same way, and can be impacted by age, family expectations, or cultural or societal norms. Hopefully these beautifully written, deeply moving books can provide some measure of comfort to young people experiencing some of life’s most difficult moments.
Fern feels invisible. Her parents are always busy, her big brother and sister are too wrapped up in their own challenges to pay attention to her, and though she loves him, her little brother is constantly driving her crazy. When a terrible tragedy strikes, Fern is left wondering if her family will ever be able to put the pieces of their shattered lives back together again. A powerful, heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful story of a family struggling through profound grief and loss together.
Suzy cannot accept the story she’s been told – that her best friend died in a drowning accident. Things like this just don’t happen without a reason. Instead, Suzy becomes obsessed with the idea that her friend must’ve been stung by a poisonous jellyfish, and sets out on a quest to prove that her death was no accident. Along the way, Suzy must grapple with a fact that we all must come to terms with in our lives – that bad things sometimes just happen, without any reason at all, even to the best of people. This best-selling debut has already been optioned for a movie.
David is still grieving the loss of his mother a year ago, and is filled with anger that he takes out on his grandmother – anger at his mother for dying and leaving him, anger at his father for abandoning him and burying himself in work, anger at himself, anger at the world. But then David meets Primrose, a girl with her own family challenges, and her own hidden pain. Together, David and Primose will find ways to heal, to forgive, and to let go.
Yuki is a 12-year-old girl living with a distant father, a cruel stepmother, and the pain her mother left behind in the wake of her suicide. Grieving, alone, and confused, Yuki is nonetheless determined to make the most of her life, to honour the memory of her mother, and to perhaps one day understand why Shizuko left her so suddenly. An older title, Shizuko’s Daughter is in part inspired by the author’s own experiences, and offers insight into another culture and era while tackling issues that all young people will be able to connect with.
Grief can take many forms, and for Will, his grief over his brother’s murder manifests in a rage so blinding, so all-consuming that all he can think of is revenge. Will steps on an elevator, his brother’s gun tucked in his waistband, ready to rain death on those who took his brother. But as the elevator takes the long way down, each floor reveals people and memories from his past, his present and his future that add new pieces to a puzzle Will didn’t even know needed solving, and that leave him questioning everything he thought he knew. This is a hard-hitting, powerful, deeply moving book that, with its teenage protagonist, might be best suited to slightly older or more mature readers.