One of the things I like best about being a writer actively involved in critique groups is the opportunity to review ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies). HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE DARK by Kathleen Glasgow is due out from Delacorte Press on April 9, 2019. Thank you Dana Nuenighoff for bringing this gem home from YA’LL FEST. (What’s YA’LL FEST? Read Dana’s YA’LL FEST post and Rebecca Ketling’s YA’LL FEST post here on Writers’ Rumpus).
Glasgow is the author of New York Times bestseller GIRL IN PIECES, a Delacorte Press 2016 release. Which I now have to read. Why? Because HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE DARK is that good.
People always say, “I loved that book. I couldn’t put it down.” But get this…I loved this book because I had to put it down. I was so invested in the main character Tiger Tolliver’s life on more than one occasion that I had to walk away and grieve with her.
Thank God this was fictional. There are a thousand teens experiencing tragedy and trials like Tiger’s each and every day. I only hope they are as resilient as this main character. Maybe reading this story will bring them courage.
In a nutshell, this 16-year-old only child of a single mom loses her mom to an aneurysm. BAM! Gone! No known relatives. No time to say goodbye. No anything…darkness. That’s Chapter Two.
What comes next? State receivership, loss of home and possessions, bad foster homes, good foster homes, friends who leave, friends who stay, extended family, stupid mistakes, juvenile detention…don’t use your imagination, experience it with Tiger. How she reacts to these experiences is heart-wrenching yet realistic.
Glasgow is artful in creating a character that you care about. HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE DARK is one of those books that tugs at your heart. One you will always remember.
What children’s book pulls at your heartstrings?
WRITERS' RUMPUS 
Devastating, wrenching, and totally real! Read this book and recognize how the life of a minor is hanging by the thread of family.
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Wow, Marti, I can totally see how you had to put this down to give yourself time to grieve and recover. My mother also died from an aneurysm, and this is too close to comfort for me. But I was an adult with my own family when it happened, not a teen being passed off from place to place. I give the author kudos for being able to handle such a gritty, tough topic with such realism, and I’m sure it will help many teens.
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Nice review, Marti, sounds like a fascinating read!
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Now I want to read this, Marti!!! Great review! I’m reading an ARC of ALL OUR BROKEN PIECES and it’s not only moving, but mesmerizing!
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