Goodbye Days

The heart-breaking and at times humorous look at one teen's life after the death of his best friends and how he navigates through the guilt and pain by celebrating their lives--and ultimately learns to forgive himself. What would you say if you could spend one last day with someone you lost? One day Carver Briggs had it all--three best friends, a supportive family and a reputation as a talented writer at his high school, Nashville Academy for the Arts. The next day it all crashed and burned, literally, after he wrote them out of existence with an inane text sent to his friend Mars--the last words his friends ever see. Carver can't stop blaming himself for the fatal crash and he's not the only one. Eli's twin sister is trying to freeze him out of school with her death-ray stare. Even worse, Mars's father, a powerful judge, pressures the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Carver's actions. But Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli's girlfriend, who is the only person to stand by him at school, and Blake's grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a Goodbye Day with her--having him stand in as Blake for one last day doing all their favorite things so they can share memories and say a proper goodbye. Soon Eli and Mars's families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver--but he's unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these Goodbye Days bring Carver one step closer to prison or a complete breakdown?

Dillard Early, Jr., Travis Bohannon and Lydia Blankenship are three friends from different walks of life who have one thing in common: none of them seem to fit the mold in rural Tennessee's Forrestville High. Dill has always been branded as an outsider due to his family heritage as snake handlers and poison drinkers, an essential part of their Pentecostal faith. But after his father is sent to prison for sexual abuse of a young parishioner, Dill and his mother become real pariahs. His only two friends are Travis, a gentle giant who works at his family's lumberyard and is obsessed with a Game of Thrones-like fantasy series (much to his alcoholic father's chagrin); and Lydia, who runs a popular fashion blog that's part Tavi Gevinson and part Angela Chase, and is actively plotting her escape from Redneckville, Tennessee. As the three friends begin their senior year, it becomes clear that they won't all be getting to start a promising new life after graduation. How they deal with their diverging paths could cause the end of their friendship. Until a shattering act of random violence forces Dill to wrestle with his dark legacy and find a way into the light of a future worth living.

From the acclaimed author of Lies We Tell Ourselves, Robin Talley, comes a Shakespeare-inspired story of revenge and redemption, where fair is foul, and foul is fair. Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—but one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey. Golden child Delilah is a legend at exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. But Delilah doesn’t know that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to unseat Delilah for the scholarship. After all, it would lock in Maria’s attendance at Stanford—and assure her and Lily four more years in a shared dorm room. Together, Maria and Lily harness the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school. But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what’s imagined, the girls must attempt to put a stop to the chilling series of events they’ve accidentally set in motion.

Not since The 10th Good Thing About Barney or I'll Always Love You has there been such a peaceful and inspiring book to help children and adults cope with the loss of a pet. The talented multiple-medalist Jane Yolen takes on this difficult subject with her usual grace and poetic sensitivity, focusing not on the death as much as the life in the last day of an older cat named Tiger Rose. Tiger Rose's kitten days are long gone and she's grown too tired to stay, so she says her goodbyes to all the creatures and the joys of her natural world—from the scolding blue jay, to the dog and children she shares her home with, to a chipmunk, startled by her gentleness, to her favorite shady patch under a piney bush. In a final vision, Tiger Rose takes one last leap into the blue sky and becomes one with all—the earth, the air, the sun. . . . This is perhaps the most reassuring book on death available for children.

Goodbye Salad Days tells the story of Kevin, a regular hamster in a familiar quarter-life crisis. Kevin's got his own hamster-sized home, hamster-sized furniture, and the soul-crushing societal expectation to do adulthood right. Both adorable and painfully relatable, this book is sure to hit a soft spot in any reader trying to make the best of growing up and facing adulthood. • Features 25 scenarios with short captions • Filled with full color photographs of Kevin in handmade dioramas • At once perfectly weird and very relatable, making it a great gift Life for Kevin means enduring the grind of work responsibilities, an aching body, and mounting pressure from his parents to start a family, among other things. This sweet and funny book is a great gift or self-purchase for anyone hitting their quarter-life crisis and in need of some relatable laughs. • This hilarious and cute book is for anyone who has experienced (or is about to experience) these moments of loss and despair, and need a good laugh or a pick-me-up • Also a great gift for anyone who loves hamsters—especially funny photos of them • Author Traer Scott is a celebrated animal photographer and has had work featured in National Geographic • Add it to the shelf with books like Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Braden, The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose, and Awkward Family Pet Photos by Mike Bender and Doug Chernack.

This brilliant, New York Times bestselling novel from the author of the Newbery Medal winner When You Reach Me explores multiple perspectives on the bonds and limits of friendship. Long ago, best friends Bridge, Emily, and Tab made a pact: no fighting. But it’s the start of seventh grade, and everything is changing. Emily’s new curves are attracting attention, and Tab is suddenly a member of the Human Rights Club. And then there’s Bridge. She’s started wearing cat ears and is the only one who’s still tempted to draw funny cartoons on her homework. It’s also the beginning of seventh grade for Sherm Russo. He wonders: what does it mean to fall for a girl—as a friend? By the time Valentine’s Day approaches, the girls have begun to question the bonds—and the limits—of friendship. Can they grow up without growing apart? “Sensitively explores togetherness, aloneness, betrayal and love.” —The New York Times A Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book for Fiction Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, NPR, and more!

How do you let go of a hand you've held your whole life? When Lisa traveled home to visit her parents in December 2011, she never expected an ordinary three-day weekend to turn into an extraordinary 14-day observance of her mother’s life – and ultimately – death. From a child’s first breath to a mother’s last, 14 Days shows how closing that circle can be a celebration of this unbreakable bond.

Embrace the power of ritual with simple yet “powerful” (Kim Chestney, author of Radical Intuition and founder of IntuitionLab) practices that slow us down to honor and mark the real moments in our lives—from the loss of a parent to the birth of a child, from grieving a pet to celebrating coming out of the closet. Life has many transitions: A baby is born. A child leaves for college. A marriage. A divorce. A death. We all experience moments of profound change, but what do we do to mark those moments? How do we become mindful of these events and imbue them with purpose and meaning? Could our lives be better, richer, and more resilient if we had more practical resources and rituals to honor, sanctify, and make sense of these transitions? Day Schildkret, artist and author behind the international Morning Altars movement, believes that what we need is ritual. Rituals are the rhythms and traditions that give us a sense of stability in the face of uncertainty by reminding us that there’s always something we can do, say or make that conjures awe, contentment, and gratitude. They give us a way to acknowledge through our actions that, as life changes, we too must change. Offering ways to make these moments special and sacred, Hello, Goodbye teaches you to not fear uncertainty, but instead participate fully and creatively in life’s inevitable changes, including: -Birth of a child -Moving and new homes -Divorce -Empty nesting -Retirement -Death anniversary -Health crises Containing over 75 hands-on ritual instructions, informed by hundreds of interviews, and filled with beautiful illustrations, inspirational story-telling, potent questions, and experienced wisdom, Hello, Goodbye is “certain to become a forever reference and treasured, faithful companion” (Kimbery Ann Johnson, author of Call of the Wild and The Fourth Trimester) for life’s many milestones, perfect for those looking to find meaning in change and embrace the transformative thresholds of our lives. Hello, Goodbye is a “direct and moving” (Rabbi Jill Jammer, PhD, author of The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons) guide we all need to navigate life’s uncertainties with grace, meaning, and intention, perfect for fans of Krista Tippet, Priya Parker, and Elena Brower.