Seven YA characters having a rough back to school season

Eric Smith is the author of The Geek’s Guide to Dating and Inked. One of seven "recent YA reads with teens having a way worse start to the school year than you are" he tagged at the BN Teen blog:

Goodbye Days, by Jeff Zentner

It feels kinda wrong to tease this book, seeing as it doesn’t come out until March of next year, but I’m here to encourage your pre-orders. Because. This. Book. I can’t imagine starting off school the way poor Carver Briggs does in Zentner’s sophomore novel.

Because he has killed his best friends.

Well, not really. He sends a text message to one of them, and when that friend tries to respond, he crashes the car he’s driving, killing all the passengers on board. Carver is left rolling in crippling guilt, as lawsuits and media descend upon him. Between battling the sinking feeling in his chest that never seems to go away and trying to navigate a complicated, maybe-blossoming relationship with his deceased friend’s girlfriend, it’s a beautifully complex novel about learning how to grieve and forgive yourself.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue