When their mother dies, two very different brothers become even more distant, but when their father's alcoholism sends him into liver failure, the two boys must come face-to-face with their demons--and each other--if they are going to survive an uncertain future.

"Ghosts aren't meant to stick around forever. . . Ghosts are everywhere in Shelly's life. Recently passed people, pets, and a boy who lives in the local graveyard and lends her Smiths tapes are all part of spirit world she and her grandmother are privy to. In the tradition of their Cree ancestors, Shelly and her grandmother help these lost souls transition to the next world by catching them in their hair. But when Shelly's mom dies, her relationship...

"Since her mom died, Andie's family has crumbled. Instead of working, her dad gambles away insurance money, while her sister, Paige, has put her future on hold in order to pick up extra waitressing shifts. Andie's afraid of what will happen if people find out just how bad things are. She's not sure how long she can hide the fact that there's no food or money in the house...or adults, for that matter. When her science partner suggests they study paranormal...

Twelve-year-old Dill refuses to deal with the recent death of her mother until her dog starts running with a pack that is suspected of killing livestock on neighboring farms, and Dill's beloved grandfather becomes so sick that he needs to go the the hospital just like her mother did.

When Meri Beckley looks at the peaceful Chicago streets, she feels pride in the era of unprecedented hope and prosperity over which the governor presides. But when her mother is killed, Meri suddenly has questions that no one else seems to be asking. And when she tries to uncover her mother's state of mind in her last weeks, she finds herself drawn into a secret world with a history she didn't know existed. Faced with a choice between accepting the...

After receiving a wooden puzzle box at a town festival, twelve-year-old Kallie figures out how to open the box and finds that her fate seems to be connected to a young bone carver from another time.

"Some girls call their mother their best friend. Marisol Martin? She could never relate. She and her mom were forever locked in an argument with no beginning and no end. Clothes, church, boys -- no matter the topic, Marisol always felt like there was an unbridgeable gap between them. But when her mother dies suddenly, Marisol is left with no one to fight. Her dad seems completely lost, and worse, baffled by Marisol's attempts to connect with her mother's...

Upon her mother's death, eleven-year-old Wavie Conley must go live with a scheming aunt in the Kentucky town her mother left behind.

"Harlow Ford has spent her entire life running, caught in her mother's wake as they flit from town to town, hiding from a presence that Harlow isn't even sure is real. In each new place, Harlow takes on a new name and personality, and each time they run, she leaves another piece of herself behind. When Harlow and her mom set off on yet another 3 a.m. escape, they are involved in a car accident that leaves Harlow's mother fatally wounded. Before she...

Seventeen-year-old Jamison finds hope after the loss of his mother, and recognizes the role that family, friends, and even strangers can play in the healing process if you are open and willing to share your experience with others. Jamison Deever discovered a love of photography through his mother, who taught him to understand the difference between a snapshot and a work of art. Two years after her death, Jamison, his dad, and his younger sister seem...