Books by Sara Zarr
Story of a Girl
by Sara Zarr
When she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend--Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of "school slut," she longs to escape a life defined by her past. With subtle grace, complicated wisdom and striking emotion, Story of a Girl reminds us of our human capacity for resilience, epiphany and redemption.
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A Song Called Home
by Sara Zarr
From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a story of the small moments that show us who we are, and how family is not just something you’re part of, but something you make.
Lou and her family don’t have much, but for Lou it's enough. Mom. Her sister, Casey. Their apartment in the city. Her best friend, Beth. It would be better if Dad could stop drinking and be there for her and Casey, and if they didn't have to worry about money all the time. But Lou doesn’t need better—she only needs enough.
What’s enough for Lou, however, is not enough for Mom. Steve, Mom's boyfriend, isn’t a bad guy, he's just…not what Lou is used to. And now, he and Mom are getting married, and that means moving. Packing up life as they’ve known it and storing it in Steve’s garage. Lou will be separated from everything in her small but predictable life, farther from Dad than ever.
Their last night in the city, Lou receives a mysterious birthday gift: A guitar, left for her by their front door. There’s nothing saying who left it, but it must be from Dad. And as she leaves the only place she’s ever known, she starts to believe that if she can learn how to play it, maybe she can bring a piece of him, and of her old life, home.
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Roomies
The countdown to college has begun.
When Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment at the beginning of summer, she shoots off an email to coordinate the basics: TV, microwave, mini-fridge. She can't wait to escape her New Jersey beach town, and her mom, and start life over in California.
That first message comes as a surprise to Lauren in San Francisco; she had requested a single. But if Lauren's learned anything from being the oldest of six, it's that you can't always get what you want, especially when what you want is privacy.
Soon the girls are e-mailing back and forth, sharing secrets even though they've never met. With childhood friendships and family relationships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives...and each other.
With humor and heart, Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist for Story of a Girl, and Tara Altebrando, acclaimed author of The Pursuit of Happiness, join forces for a novel about that time after high school when everything feels like it's ending just as it's beginning.
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Life Inside My Mind: 31 Authors Share Their Personal Struggles
by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Ellen Hopkins, Francesca Lia Block, Lauren Oliver, Maureen Johnson, Melissa Marr, Cynthia Hand, Kimberly McCreight, Robison Wells, Dan Wells, Aprilynne Pike, Sarah Fine, Sara Zarr, Amber Benson, Cyn Balog, Francisco X. Stork, Amy Reed, Jessica Burkhart, Karen Mahoney, Tom Pollock, Hannah Moskowitz, Wendy Toliver, Cindy L. Rodriguez, Candace Ganger, Rachel M. Wilson, E. Kristin Anderson, Kelly Fiore-Stultz, Scott Neumyer, Crissa-Jean Chappell, Tara Kelly, Megan Kelley Hall
“Who better to raise teens’ awareness of mental illness and health than the YA authors they admire?” —Booklist (starred review)
“[A] much-needed, enlightening book.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
Your favorite YA authors including Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, and more recount their own experiences with mental health in this raw, real, and powerful collection of essays that explores everything from ADD to PTSD.
Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t get out of bed? Not the occasional morning, but every day? Do you find yourself listening to a voice in your head that says “you’re not good enough,” “not good looking enough,” “not thin enough,” or “not smart enough”? Have you ever found yourself unable to do homework or pay attention in class unless everything is “just so” on your desk? Everyone has had days like that, but what if you have them every day?
You’re not alone. Millions of people are going through similar things. However issues around mental health still tend to be treated as something shrouded in shame or discussed in whispers. It’s easier to have a broken bone—something tangible that can be “fixed”—than to have a mental illness, and easier to have a discussion about sex than it is to have one about mental health.
Life Inside My Mind is an anthology of true-life events from writers of this generation, for this generation. These essays tackle everything from neurodiversity to addiction to OCD to PTSD and much more. The goals of this book range from providing a home to those who are feeling alone, awareness to those who are witnessing a friend or family member struggle, and to open the floodgates to conversation.
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