The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina

The Phone Booth at The Edge of the World is a healing book about grief. A good book to read or listen too. If you haven't seen the Tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 or so, it's haunting. Travel to Japan and visit the wind phone as many people grieve in their own way, to talk to who they have lost.

Olivetti by Allie Millington

Olivetti is a fantastic book! The story is told by an old typewriter and a boy missing his mother who just took off for no appartent reason. the typewritter breaks the rule and starts typing notes to the boy to help the boy discover what happened to his mother. A great read!

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

I loved this book. It has several different layers and they all work. It's a sweet story and perfect for a holiday movie. The Whishing Game is a home run. More an Adult reader but would be fine for high school students to read also. I wouldn't really put it in a high school library but it's a fine book for teens to also read.

How to Read A Book by Monica Wood

One bad choice leads to a tragic death. Two years later, the story picks up and focuses on three lives that intersect. One who drove under the influence and killed a wife. One who is the widower and one who runs a book club in prison. A chance meet up at a bookstore, changes the course of their lives. How to Read A Book is a good read and a good audiobook. A good summer read or listen. I liked this book very much.

All We Have Left by Wendy Mills

Get this book in your library now.  It is an excellent read.  Grief, understanding, anger and pain coupled with family dysfunction and things not said makes this a woven story of two time frames of a tragic time and years later.  A sister who was very little when her brother died.  A scarf, a knife and story uncovered when the truth is sought.  A powerful read.  You are taken in to the towers in a time when destruction and urgency lead to survival.

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez

Sisters band together to help a sister with some mental health issues.  The sister does end up committing suicide.  It's a story about family and grief and so much more. It's a good read.

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

It's a good read and fine for any school library.  

One For The Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

A great book to add to any middle school library.  A raw book in the sense of a young girl, filled with pain and disappointment in a parent that she had trusted.  Her mom has remarried and the step-father is abusive.  Carly and her mom end up in a hospital, which leads her going to a foster home.  The foster mom is one of the kindest people as problems and anger keep being expressed.  It's a good read.

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb

A sweet story of a four generation from Russia to America.  Four women raising their children as told 

by a grandmother encouraging her grand daughter.  Listen to the audio book.  It's told sweetly.  

Little Universes by Heather Demetrios

Two sisters, one who is adopted, lose their parents to a tsunami wave when their parents were on vacation.  How they deal with grief are very different.  One on drugs and the other tries to help her.  This is one intense book.  Lots of out of control problems.  I don't think I would put this in my high school library.  But it is a good YA read.

The Rough Patch by Brian Lies

If you have ever had a dog from puppy to adulthood, or just adopted a dog, you know how they become such an important part of your life.  And then, sadly, the dog no longer is there.  This book, is beautifully done, capturing the feelings and emotions that go with missing a dog.  A special dog,  I think that this book would be good for all ages, even adult.  A must add to the library.

The Longevity Paradox by Steven R. Gundry, MD

Wow, I learned a lot and am incorporating changes.  The audio book was also very good.  I am going to add this to my personal library.  This is a good read and a good listen to.  It makes you think and about changing what you do and eat to live a good quality life as you get older. 

31 Day Food Revolution by Ocean Robbins

I had listened to the audio book version and I liked it so much, I bought the paperback book.  I'm thinking of getting this for my high school library.  hmmm  I wish he'd write one specifically for teens.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This is a must read for all.  Even the person who is in the presidential office should read this book.  Or at least listen to the audio book.  It's humanity and understanding what people went through and the universal challenges that are faced.  Watch Francine grow up into a young woman.  It's a good story.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan

This is a very special book.  I will for sure get for my high school library.  Dealing with grief from the loss of a parent due to suicide.  The story is told in a very special way.  A good read.

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

I love this story and also the artwork that goes with it.  It's sweet and poignant.  Painful at times and hopeful at others.  If you are a fan of fan fiction and graphic novels and real life teens then enjoy this story.  I'm getting it for my high school library.

Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland

It's a heavy poignant book of handling high school, grief, and love.  It's  a good book.  Snappy dialogue, and interesting characters.  A girl loses her boyfriend to a car accident, she is not handling it well.  At one point, I was wondering what is the story of her parents.  Then the story explains it.  There is some drinking, f*bombs and sex but it is handled well.  It's about healing and growing up.  It's a good story.  I would say read the book before you add the book to your library.

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

It has sex, violence, rape, suicide, drugs, drinking and lots of trouble as teens navigate through family dysfunction, self image and raw feelings.  The book is brilliant but the world is unvarnished.  People living dangerous lives.

A time to dance by Padma Venkatraman

This is a must for any teen library.  Just like the story of Pax, where three characters have injured legs, this too has a character who must learn to walk and find strength again.  This book is now on my shopping list for my library.  Enjoy.  Well written.

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

This story has many layers to it.  Healing heart and health, emotions and souls.  Peter meets a veteran who has lost a leg in a previous war.  Pax encounters foxes and as a result one fox loses a leg.  Peter ends up breaking his leg and staying with the vet.  Both fox and boy learn and grown as they adapt to the world around them.  It's a beautiful story and fine for any library.  Enjoy.