Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Review: Far From You


Far From You
Lisa Schroeder
Simon Pulse; 2008; 978-1-4169-7506-9 (hardcover)

Summary: Ever since the death of her mother, Alice has been trying to cope with the loss. But music and friends and a boyfriend haven't been enough. Add in her stepmother and the brand-new half-sister and Alice wonders if anyone would notice if she vanished into wonderland. Then, Alice is stranded with her stepmother and half-sister in the midst of a snowstorm. How will they escape? Perhaps Alice hasn't been as alone as she thought . . .

In spare, wintry verse, Lisa Schroeder captures the individuality of the grieving process. Even though people tell Alice that she needs to move on, Alice knows it's not time yet. She still has songs to write about her loss, memories of her mother to hold close. It takes the moments of honesty with her stepmother and the responsibility for her half-sister to show Alice the way. And once she's found it, she's able to climb out of the rabbit hole. Fans of Margo Rabb's Cures for Heartbreak will embrace this novel-in-verse.

If this sounds like a book you'd like to read, why not enter the contest to win a copy?

1 comment:

Beth Saxton said...

I brought this to my teen book club and it was snatched out of my hands as soon as finished talking about it :-) Same 12th grader also left with a handful of other novels in verse.