The Girl with More Than One Heart

Description

When Briana's father dies of a heart attack, she feels a new heart grow inside her. Through this heart, her father's voice guides her through her grief and helps her navigate her new, not-so-normal life at home. When her mother's own grief becomes overpowering, Briana feels like she's responsible for her autistic little brother, Aaron. Spending much of her time and energy caring for Aaron, she wonders: Did his special needs hurt her father's very fragile heart? The voice of Briana's "new heart" helps her to cope with the messy uncertainties, as she balances her first feelings of romance, making new friends, and following her dream of writing for the school newspaper. And as Briana finds strength and knowledge in herself, she's finally able to let go of her new heart and rely solely on her own.

Laura Geringer Bass was the publisher of Laura Geringer Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, for more than 20 years. She is the author of Sign of the Qin and the Myth Men series. She lives in New York City.

"Bass balances the coming-of-age narrative with a grief journey that sensitively and realistically shows how friendships and family relationships change after a tragedy."-- "School Library Journal" "Bass excels in portraying the family members, their relationships, and how they shift when one person is no longer there . . . A heartfelt story of loss, grief, and healing."-- "Booklist" "Bass tackles some heavy issues--having a sibling with a disability, losing a parent suddenly and at a young age, and coping with a parent's depression--but she manages to do it with grace and empathy."-- "Kirkus Reviews" "Readers struggling with responsibility for younger siblings might especially relate to this."-- "The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books" "Throughout The Girl with More Than One Heart, Briana reflects on happier days with her late father . . . and those memories propel her to find her own way, to "be her own" (as her second heart tells her) and embrace her new life."-- "BookPage" "Written through a series of flashbacks mixed with the present day, Bass has created a sad but hopeful novel about grief and growing up . . . This is a heartwarming tale full of believable characters and situations, with an ending that is hopeful and realistic."-- "School Library Connection" "In this tenderhearted tale, Bass (Sign of the Qin) conveys the complex, conflicting emotions that arise in a family facing the unexpected death of a parent . . . It's an emotionally nuanced exploration of grief and resilience."-- "Publishers Weekly"