Light in the Shadow

When life is turned upside down and sadness settles in, what's a girl to do?Ella, an eleven and a half-year-old girl, cannot move on with her life after the death of her older sister. Sadness from the loss and the fear of forgetting her sister overcome Ella, taking away her joy. She loses her purpose, and the future feels bleak. Unexpectedly for Ella, her family moves halfway across the country, and she has to enroll in a new school mid-year-another unwanted change. When a new boy enters her class, Ella is set on an unexpected path of healing and discovery as she delivers a random act of kindness required for a school project. This is a powerful story of loss and recovery told from a young girl's prospective. Lively characters, an emotionally stirring storyline, and settings that seem entirely real make this an appealing story for middle schoolers who like books such as Discovering Winn Dixie, Chirp, and Bridge to Terabithia