For fans of Paula Hawkins, Gillian Flynn, Megan Abbott and Jandy Nelson.Seventeen-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got there. As Grace starts writing, pouring her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget: falling hopelessly in love with Nat, and the unravelling of her friendship with her best mate Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?Grace must face the most important question of all.Why is she here?A compulsive thriller of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction.

    Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her primary caretaker ever since Aura’s dad left them. Convinced that creative expression is behind her mother’s deteriorating condition, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks still deeper into the darkness of her disorder, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.Booklist Starred ReviewTop Ten First Novels for Youth (Booklist)Silver Medal, Foreword INDIES Book of the YearGold Medal, IPPY Awards

    She was in the local swimming club, and loved it; she lived with her parents and her brother, Cam, in the small coastal town she'd known all her life. She had friends, she had goals - she had a life. Now Cam is dead, her parents might as well be - and Lucy can't bear to get back in the pool. All she has to look forward to now is a big pile of going-nowhere.Drawn to Steffi, her wild ex-best-friend who reminds Lucy of her mysterious, unpredictable brother, and music-obsessed Evan, the new boy in town, Lucy starts asking questions. Why did Cam die? Was it an accident or suicide? But as Lucy hunts for answers she discovers much more than she expects. About Cam. About her family. About herself.

    The only one who knows the dark secrets inside her home is her best friend and next-door neighbor, Adam. Cara’s only escape is by writing and sharing her stories with him through their facing bedroom windows late at night. Just when everything seems to get better, Cara’s world shatters, causing her to spiral into a deep depression and writer’s block. Even though Adam promises her “everything will be okay,” she knows things will never be the same. As she clutches to the fractured wounds of the past, how will Cara ever be able to love or write again? Breathtaking is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that fans of John Green and Nicholas Sparks will love.

    John Sanders is about to begin his career as a clinical psychologist. Full of optimism, he believes he can make a difference and is eager to provide hope to a group the world has deemed hopeless. Yet in John's quest to offer those in his care a second chance, he embarks on his own journey of self-discovery. In his search, clear answers become scrambled confusion while the unimaginable truth is trapped in a complex web. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Sander’s Starfish is a powerful story regarding the worth of a soul and doing what is right in the face of any challenge which may arise. As tension builds, author Allred does a masterful job with intermingling the lives of the two main characters. The manuscript is accomplished with ardent insight into the life of the mentally ill as well as being completed with striking writing. The detailed and true to life scenes of life in a residential care treatment center are powerfully portrayed. Sanders’ Starfish is a riveting account drawing the reader into the storyline from the opening lines as we stand at the door confronting Clarissa with Dr Sanders. Our knees smart when the cart is thrust into his by the dogged patient. Reader attention is held fast from that initial contact with this anecdote’s main character and does not diminish until we find the conflict is properly decided. Writing is good quality, action is fast paced, a convincing well thought out plot is easy to follow, dialogue used effectively moves the story along. Sanders’ Starfish is not a light hearted little tale. Richly rendered surroundings, commanding stimulus, story line twists, snappy exchanges, hair raising excitement and satisfyingly puzzling uncertainty pack the pages of author Allred’s initial work with mesmerizing reader appeal. With a razor sharp, centered narrative; Allred gives a picture of life in a residential care unit few are aware exists. Flourishing with well rounded characters in this remarkably directed anecdote of deception, underhanded conniving and unexpected disputes, the book has something to please every reader." Reviewed by: Molly’s Reviews/Molly Martin