A Life, Forward

Gr 9 Up–After finding out that her mother had been responsible for the death of her little brother, Rowan, who is white, moves in with her boyfriend’s family to start a new life. Her father has left the family and her mother is put in jail for her crime. Rowan stops cutting herself, but the scars run deep, inside and out. She is still trying to find where she belongs and whether she will be able to move on with her life. Not only has she moved in with Mike’s family, she also has a new job that she loves at an animal shelter. Rowan is resilient and determined. She must finish high school and be admitted to a college of her choice, even though trouble, in the form of her sister, follows her around. In the middle of all her trouble, Rowan finds out that her best friend, Jess, is pregnant. Rowan becomes the stronger of the two and must find a solution that will work for Jess and the baby. Again, Meyer gives readers a believable and positive picture of Rowan’s life: “Light, it shines ahead, a glimmer. A flash, then it is gone. Like it never existed, but I saw it. And it changed me.”