Two sisters are on either side of a seemingly uncrossable divide. Jane and Lily were close as children but grew apart as they reached adolescence. Never comfortable with social situations, and unable to deal well with change, Jane drew more and more inside herself as she got older while her younger sister moved gracefully through the social minefield of high school. When Lily’s boyfriend, Caleb, entered the picture, Jane’s already fragile sense of security was threatened even more. At the same time, Lily found her older sister’s challenging behavior and constant neediness more than she could sometimes bear. Now Lily is mourning her sister, and agonizing over what she might have done differently to help her be at peace in the world. And Jane is literally a lost soul, wandering the past in hopes of finding the sense of safety that disappeared with the passing of childhood. Told in chapters that alternate between each sister’s story in the present, Adele Griffin’s haunting, ethereal novel paints a sensitive portrait of the impact of mental illness on a family as it chronicles the struggles of the two sisters—one living, one now dead—to let go and move on. (Ages 12–15)

Once, Jane was the big sister, teaching Lily to play make believe and protecting her from thunderstorms. But then Lily grew up. She started making friends and dating boys, while Jane wanted to go on playing make believe forever. For Jane, the line between fantasy and reality had always blurred, whereas Lily lived for a future bright with expectation and change. Inevitably, the sisters found a gulf widening between them-Lily reveling in her newfound love, while Jane could only watch, frustrated, from the sidelines. How had her little sister managed to eclipse her?
Then tragedy struck. But the story was not over. . . .
Adele Griffin has crafted a spellbinding book, told in the alternating voices of two very different sisters dwelling on opposite sides of life and death, who are bravely trying to overcome the void and bring light to each other.