A luminous, masterfully drawn story of surviving grief, love, and seeing people's truth. Get out your tissues for this one.” —Jeff Zentner, award winning author of THE SERPENT KING and IN THE WILD LIGHT
“A triumph of a story that offers a tender yet blistering look at love, grief, relationships, and healing. Full of hope and heartache, this book will stay with you long after the last pages. I devoured it, wept frequently, and left with a full heart.” —Jamie Pacton, author of THE VERMILION EMPORIUM, LUCKY GIRL, and THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY
“An unflinching look at the way grief and love are inextricably intertwined, shaping each other and us. I read this entire book in one night, tearing through the pages even as I teared up.” —Beth Revis, NY Times bestselling author of A WORLD WITHOUT YOU and GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE
“An important and heartfelt book that broke me apart and reassembled me, REMIND ME TO HATE YOU LATER is a timely, beautiful meditation on grief and the people left behind. I laughed, I sobbed, I loved it.” —Susan Dennard, NY Times bestselling author of The Witchlands series and THE LUMINARIES
“. . . A painfully tender examination of the complexities of grief, as Natalie stumbles through a whole mess of complicated, mostly awful feelings, finally emerging quite scathed but still holding on to hope.” —BCCB
“A worthwhile, authentic meditation on loss, difficult family dynamics, and emotional growth.” —Kirkus Reviews
“You'll be obsessed.” —Cosmopolitan on THE ART OF LOSING
“The Art of Losing handles the themes of guilt and the cycle of addiction with grace and deftness.” —Entertainment Weekly on THE ART OF LOSING
“The Art of Losing is a lyrical and moving exploration of the fraught bonds of family, the suffocating bonds of addiction, and the warm, embracing bonds of love. This is a book you won't soon forget.” —Jeff Zentner, Morris Award-winning author of THE SERPENT KING, on THE ART OF LOSING
“A brave and beautiful story about sisters, addiction, and finding your place in the world—a book that belongs on every shelf.” —Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of GIRL IN PIECES, on THE ART OF LOSING
“An unflinchingly honest and touching dive into the ever-complex relationship between sisters, the reality of addiction, and the nature of love in all forms. I will never forget Harley or her story.” —Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of PASSENGER, on THE ART OF LOSING
“With prose that taps into the highest of highs and lowest of lows, The Art of Losing shows exactly what it means to have a sister, to be a sister, and—the scariest of all—to possibly lose a sister. As a big sister myself, this story rang so true.” —Susan Dennard, New York Times bestselling author of TRUTHWITCH, on THE ART OF LOSING
“Lizzy Mason's powerful debut is about the bonds and betrayals of sisterhood and accepting flaws in those we love. Emotionally resonant and, at times, gut-wrenching, Harley's story is one that will stay with you long after turning the last page.” —Elizabeth Eulberg, bestselling author of BETTER OFF FRIENDS, on THE ART OF LOSING
11/03/2023
Gr 9 Up— A mother's outsized ego as a social media influencer is misunderstood in her daughter's suicide. Jules loves to cook, and to eat—passions her best friend Natalie and boyfriend Carter benefit from over many bowls of spaghetti carbonara. Often reluctant to engage with her high school peers, Jules lives with depression and feels safest in the kitchen. She's considered suicide and makes Nat promise not to tell, putting Nat in an impossible position. Nat shares this secret with Jules's mother, Britt, who became a surrogate Mom to Nat when her own mother died of cancer. Britt's fame as an Instagram influencer clouds her decisions as a parent. After Britt posts a childhood photo of Jules in a too-tight bathing suit, her followers' comments shame Jules, relentlessly and forever. Britt sees writing a book about Jules's tragic death as healing, and maybe helping—but first she needs Nat's approval. Even though Nat tries hard to blame Britt for Jules's death, she agrees to read it prepublication, and is moved by Britt's personal revelations of loss, before she became a mother. Mason shows how Carter and Nat tentatively seek out each other's solace as well, experiencing guilt, grief, and finally, some acceptance of Jules's responsibility for her own life, especially the decision she made to end it. VERDICT Recommended for YA collections.—Georgia Christgau
2022-11-16
The fallout and sustained ripple effects of a young woman’s death by suicide are explored in this realistic novel.
Jules has long struggled with her social media–obsessed mother Britt’s posts about parenting and family life. They often share a great deal more about Jules’ life than is comfortable for her and also push an image and weight consciousness that damage her well-being. Her best friend, Natalie, and boyfriend, Carter, try to help her negotiate the difficult position she is in with her mom and to support her as she also experiences depression and suicidal ideation and copes by cutting herself. Shifting from the first section, in which Jules’ first-person voice is centered, to the second, in which Nat is the narrator, this poignant, honest story is complexly layered, pulling in Jules’ loved ones’ various perspectives in unfussy, descriptive language. The backstory of Nat’s family, who still grieve the death of her mother years earlier, evocatively illustrates the different ways grief can manifest and how it can defy expectations of being a linear process. The auspicious ending is welcome, though Nat’s growing understanding of Britt may strike readers as coming about a bit too quickly. Main characters are cued White.
A worthwhile, authentic meditation on loss, difficult family dynamics, and emotional growth. (Fiction. 13-18)
