My Beautiful Failure

Description

The haunting account of a teen boy who volunteers at a suicide hotline and falls for a troubled caller. As her life spirals out of control, Jenney's calls become more desperate, more frequent. Billy, struggling with the deteriorating relationship with his depressed father, is the only one who understands. Through her pain, he sees hope. Through her tears, he feels her heart. And through her despair, he finds love. But is that enough? Acclaimed author Janet Ruth Young has written a stunning and powerful story with no easy answers; it is about pain and heartbreak, reality and illusion, and finding redemption and the strength to forgive in the darkest of times.

Janet Ruth Young is the author of the teen novels My Beautiful Failure, Things I Shouldn't Think (previously published as The Babysitter Murders), and The Opposite of Music. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Visit her at JanetRuthYoung.com.

"The emotional resonance here is complex and multifaceted, melancholy even where there's hope and hopeful in the midst of melancholy; readers will be thinking about this one long after they close the book." * Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books * "The insider view of a suicide hotline is a poignant one. Like the realistic novels of Todd Strasser, this compelling title places a young person in a moral quandary that could literally mean the difference between life and death." * Booklist * "The heavy subjects of mental illness and suicide are deftly handled with a surprisingly light touch. Recommended" * Library Media Connection *