An essential exploration of why books that tackle grief and violence can help students process the reality of these experiences in their lives. This book is a courageous and thoughtful compass for all teachers navigating those difficult but ultimately life-affirming waters.

Brendan Kiely, New York Times best-selling author of All American Boys, Tradition, The Last True Love Story, and The Gospel of Winte

When confronted by death and tragedy, I have never known a group of students who returned to school without the desire to express themselves in some way. Some yearn to speak and be heard, others prefer to listen and reflect; finding a balance between the two can be a difficult task for teachers in the classroom setting. Hence, this important book invites teachers to consider how they explore death’s social impact through literature and provides meaningful pedagogical practices that scaffold personal, emotional, and intellectual conversations about how students respond, as Dr. Maya Angelou once wrote, “when great trees fall…and when great souls die.”

Alan Brown, Associate Professor of English Education, Wake Forest University; co-editor of Developing Contemporary Literacies through Sports: A Guide for the English Classroom (with Luke Rodesiler)

Falter and Bickmore’s book urges teachers to face the topic of death and loss with students through the reading of well-selected young adult literature both fresh and familiar. In doing so, they dignify the kinds of losses young people already face, but which are usually deemed off-limits for classroom study and discussion. Chapters focus on a surprising range of topics, including a focus on the veracity of non-fictional representations of deaths like that of Emmett Till; a consideration of “spirit-murder” via systemic racism; and rethinking views of child soldiers. Each chapter pauses to ensure sensitivity and care when broaching these issues. Much gratitude for a book that honors youth enough to see their strengths and vulnerabilities as central in the curriculum.

Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides, author of “'Coerced Loss and Ambivalent Preservation': Racial Melancholia in American Born Chinese”