Grief Girl: my true story by Erin Vincent.

As a teen I was obsessed with reading true stories that related to my life.  Actually at the time, I liked them the darker the better.  This book would have been right up my alley, and still is.

Erin Vincent writes the story of her teens when she lost her mother in an accident and then her father one month later.  It is a harrowing true story of grief and mourning and how the familiar list of the stages of grief does not really capture the process that mourners go through.  Through much of the book, Erin is lost and confused.  She has a miserable relationship with her older sister, a blissful relationship with her very young brother, and a very strange relationship with her uncle who manages their inheritance.  While some people stand by the children, many others desert them and go on to live their own lives.  The coldness of familiar faces is one of the major themes of the book. 

The writing is powerful, unflinching, and gripping.  Erin creates a book where readers will experience her pain and loss along with her.  Her honesty is amazing as is her sense of humor.  She is a true survivor who has written a true story that most teen girls will want to read.

Recommend this book to teens who enjoy books about loss, but also to those teens who enjoy a good dark tale filled with psychology.  Erin is the epitome of the teen narrator, capturing the teen experience brilliantly.