Because of the Sun

Gr 9 Up—This story shows how two losses, one past and one present, affect the life of high school senior Dani Falls. After her mother dies in a tragic bear attack, Dani is forced to move across the country to New Mexico to live with a previously unknown aunt. She deals with her feelings of detachment and grief by reading Albert Camus's The Stranger and walking in the desert. As she gets to know her formerly estranged aunt and her new neighbors, Dani learns more about her mother's past, which helps her to come to terms with her own. With well-integrated story lines and fully developed characters, this title explores tragic loss and the human ability to overcome it. The occasional strong language is authentically woven into the narrative, while the author's vivid descriptions of the New Mexico landscape immerse readers in the setting.