The Stepping Off Place

by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum

Hardcover, 2020

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Publication

Quill Tree Books (2020), 480 pages

Description

From debut author Cameron Kelly Rosenblum comes a stunning teen novel that tackles love, grief, and mental health as one girl must process her friend's death and ultimately learn how to stand in her own light. Perfect for fans of All the Bright Places and We Were Liars. It's the summer before senior year. Reid is in the thick of Scofield High's in-crowd thanks to her best friend, Hattie, who has been her social oxygen since middle school.But summer is when Hattie goes to her family's Maine island home. Instead of sitting inside for eight weeks, waiting for her to return, Reid and their friend, Sam, enter into a pact--to live it up, one party at a time. But days before Hattie is due home, Reid finds out the shocking news that Hattie has died by suicide. Driven by a desperate need to understand what went wrong, Reid searches for answers.In doing so, she uncovers painful secrets about the person she thought she knew better than herself. And the truth will force Reid to reexamine everything.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member sennebec
There are several powerful aspects to this story. Reid and Hattie's friendship, for one and how Reid comes to understand it and their respective roles, for another. Then there's the relationship dynamics, some between the teen players, others between them and their parents. Reid, for example
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doesn't, at first, realize how her role in the family has been largely scripted by her younger brothers autism. That's just one of several realizations, most of them very painful, that she has to process in conjunction with her coming to grips with Hattie's death. First she's in serious denial, then angry and tempted to retreat from the world, and then she teeters on an emotional razor blade as she wrestles with three possibilities regarding her best friend's death. There's plenty of emotional messiness here, but I was really floored by the way Reid, Hammie and the others decided to honor Hattie's death. It's powerful and freeing. This is a terrific first book and a great one for libraries of any type to add not only as a great story, but one that can be a resource for those teens dealing with loss or depression.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

8.25 inches

ISBN

0062932071 / 9780062932075

DDC/MDS

813.6
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