Lucy in Between

Lucy in Between

$23.99

Review Quotes: With a steady, introspective hand, Callender's perceptive debut explores the reverberations of mental health challenges and suicide. . . . Lucy's fierce and funny narration sensitively captures her frustration at feeling undervalued as...

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Description

Review Quotes:
With a steady, introspective hand, Callender's perceptive debut explores the reverberations of mental health challenges and suicide. . . . Lucy's fierce and funny narration sensitively captures her frustration at feeling undervalued as well as her longing for connection. As she and her mother work to understand each other's perspectives, somber text emphasizes the difficulty--and necessity--of rebuilding following the death of a loved one. It's an aching portrayal of mourning and resilience that eschews easy answers for nuanced depictions of loss and its effects.
--Publishers Weekly

This book flows well and paints an authentic portrait of grief and mental health issues.
--School Library Journal

This heartfelt look at teen suicide explores the road to recovery, emphasizing the important role of familial and peer support. Debut author Callender's strong pacing and voice transport readers into the world of her clever, self-aware lead. A complicated topic handled with tenderness.
--Kirkus Reviews

Biographical Note:
Sarah Callendar is a writer, blogger, mental health advocate, and middle school English teacher. She lives in Seattle with her family.

Publisher Marketing:
Things People Ought to Know About Me: After my brother died, I didn't cry.

Thirteen-year-old Lucy Bains is smarter than your average seventh grader, but there is a lot she doesn't understand: how her brother Henry, a seventeen-year-old violin virtuoso, can possibly be depressed when he's one of classical music's brightest rising stars; why her mother is far more interested in Henry's music career than in Lucy's talents as an aspiring mime artist; and why her archeologist father--who left them years ago and now lives in Peru--suddenly wants to come for a visit. And most baffling of all, when did her best friend Charles become someone she might like to kiss?

After Henry dies by suicide, Lucy and her mother--grief-stricken, desperate, and seeking any solace or distraction Lucy's father can provide--escape to Peru. But when a local bookstore owner (and unapologetic poetry pusher), who, like Lucy, is no stranger to grief, proves more present than either of her parents, Lucy must confront some hard truths about love and family, guilt and grief.

With searing prose and a poetic voice, debut author Sarah Callender tackles one of the most difficult losses a family can experience in an unforgettable young adult novel.

Review Citations:

  • Publishers Weekly 05/25/2026 (EAN 9780823455515, Hardcover)
  • School Library Journal 06/01/2026 pg. 91 (EAN 9780823455515, Hardcover)
  • Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2026 (EAN 9780823455515, Hardcover)
  • Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 07/01/2026 (EAN 9780823455515, Hardcover)