Silhouetted by the Blue by Traci L. Jones 200 pages

This book is a nominee for the Truman award this year.  It was an excellent handling of a very sensitive subject.  The story centers around a young girl whose father suffers from severe depression.  Her mother always held the family together and helped them coast over his bouts of depression, but we join the family 11 months after the car wreck that killed her.  Now the burden is all on Serena's 12-year-old shoulders.  Her little brother doesn't seem to understand the permanence of their mother's absence and her father has completely withdrawn from the world.  The bright spot is that Serena lands the lead in the school's production of The Wiz.  As I say, this is a beautiful and sensitive telling of Serena's day to day life, trying to keep what's left of her family afloat.  It was sadly realistic, but not depressing, believe it or not.  Serena was such a lovely character and completely believable.  I highly recommend this book, not just for the 6th-8th graders, but 4th grade to adult.  It is not heavy handed, but very thoughtful.