The Stepping Off Place - by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"This story captures all the passion and insecurity inherent in coming of age friendships. A not-to-be-missed debut that will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately embrace the multi-faceted, complex nature of existence." - Estelle Laure, author of This Raging Light
"Mysterious, playful, tender, and deeply true to its unforgettable heroines, you will fall in love with this story of an iridescent friendship and its unfathomable loss." - Jodi Lynn Anderson, New York Times bestselling author
"The large cast of characters are well and sensitively drawn. The novel doesn't glorify suicide or dwell on the details of death. Instead it explores loss, futility, honesty, and love, with a richness of prose and excellence of characterization rare in a first-time author. A story to savor." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Rosenblum's debut novel is a beautifully written examination not only of the sadness of grief, but of the uncertainty it can bestow upon everything. Perfect fans of Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places, [this] is a novel that moves beyond a story of loss into one of self-discovery." - Booklist
"The Stepping Off Place is a riveting and full-hearted exploration of grief and the aftermath of loss, but more than that, it's a beautiful reminder that there are few things as precious in life as the friendships we have when we are young." - Jessie Ann Foley, Printz Honor-winning author of Sorry for Your Loss
"Riveting, aching, and devastating in the best ways, [Cameron] Kelly Rosenblum's moving debut is my favorite Young Adult novel of 2020." - Kim Savage, author of the critically acclaimed After the Woods, Beautiful Broken Girls, and In Her Skin
"A spectacular novel! A page turner that lingers." - Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of New York Times bestseller Fish in a Tree and Bank Street Best Book, One for the Murphys