"The large cast of characters are well and sensitively drawn. The novel doesn’t glorify suicide or dwell on the details of death. Instead it explores loss, futility, honesty, and love, with a richness of prose and excellence of characterization rare in a first-time author. A story to savor." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Rosenblum's debut novel is a beautifully written examination not only of the sadness of grief, but of the uncertainty it can bestow upon everything. Perfect fans of Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places , [this] is a novel that moves beyond a story of loss into one of self-discovery." — Booklist
"Mysterious, playful, tender, and deeply true to its unforgettable heroines, you will fall in love with this story of an iridescent friendship and its unfathomable loss." — Jodi Lynn Anderson, New York Times bestselling author
"The Stepping Off Place is a riveting and full-hearted exploration of grief and the aftermath of loss, but more than that, it's a beautiful reminder that there are few things as precious in life as the friendships we have when we are young." — Jessie Ann Foley, Printz Honor-winning author of Sorry for Your Loss
“Riveting, aching, and devastating in the best ways, [Cameron] Kelly Rosenblum’s moving debut is my favorite Young Adult novel of 2020.” — Kim Savage, author of the critically acclaimed After the Woods , Beautiful Broken Girls , and In Her Skin
“A spectacular novel! A page turner that lingers.” — Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of New York Times bestseller Fish in a Tree and Bank Street Best Book, One for the Murphys
“This story captures all the passion and insecurity inherent in coming of age friendships. A not-to-be-missed debut that will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately embrace the multi-faceted, complex nature of existence.” — Estelle Laure, author of This Raging Light
This story captures all the passion and insecurity inherent in coming of age friendships. A not-to-be-missed debut that will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately embrace the multi-faceted, complex nature of existence.”
Riveting, aching, and devastating in the best ways, [Cameron] Kelly Rosenblum’s moving debut is my favorite Young Adult novel of 2020.
A spectacular novel! A page turner that lingers.
"The Stepping Off Place is a riveting and full-hearted exploration of grief and the aftermath of loss, but more than that, it's a beautiful reminder that there are few things as precious in life as the friendships we have when we are young."
"Mysterious, playful, tender, and deeply true to its unforgettable heroines, you will fall in love with this story of an iridescent friendship and its unfathomable loss."
"Rosenblum's debut novel is a beautifully written examination not only of the sadness of grief, but of the uncertainty it can bestow upon everything. Perfect fans of Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places , [this] is a novel that moves beyond a story of loss into one of self-discovery."
"Rosenblum's debut novel is a beautifully written examination not only of the sadness of grief, but of the uncertainty it can bestow upon everything. Perfect fans of Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places , [this] is a novel that moves beyond a story of loss into one of self-discovery."
"Mysterious, playful, tender, and deeply true to its unforgettable heroines, you will fall in love with this story of an iridescent friendship and its unfathomable loss."
New York Times bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson
"Mysterious, playful, tender, and deeply true to its unforgettable heroines, you will fall in love with this story of an iridescent friendship and its unfathomable loss."
New York Times bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson
Narrator Hope Newhouse offers a gentle performance of this serious audiobook about surviving the loss of a friend. When Reid discovers that Hattie likely died by suicide weeks before starting their senior year, she is forced to redefine her life without her best friend by her side. Telling her story through glimpses of the past and present, Reid has a soft-spoken and careful voice. She is somber in her thought processes as she examines her memories of Hattie’s last summer. Newhouse voices Hattie with a touch of vocal fry and a commanding and dramatic attitude reflective of her overwhelming confidence, which is all the more reason for Reid to suspect foul play. This mindful audiobook carefully explores the complex feelings involved with loss. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Narrator Hope Newhouse offers a gentle performance of this serious audiobook about surviving the loss of a friend. When Reid discovers that Hattie likely died by suicide weeks before starting their senior year, she is forced to redefine her life without her best friend by her side. Telling her story through glimpses of the past and present, Reid has a soft-spoken and careful voice. She is somber in her thought processes as she examines her memories of Hattie’s last summer. Newhouse voices Hattie with a touch of vocal fry and a commanding and dramatic attitude reflective of her overwhelming confidence, which is all the more reason for Reid to suspect foul play. This mindful audiobook carefully explores the complex feelings involved with loss. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
★ 2020-05-03
For six years Reid, 17, has warded off anxiety, social awkwardness, and the loss of her mother’s attention (her younger brother is autistic and her mother has thrown herself into fundraising for autism research) by hiding behind vibrant Hattie. But since Hattie summers on her affluent family’s private island in Maine, with unreliable cell service and no Wi-Fi, Reid hadn’t seen her in weeks when, days before the start of school, she learns that Hattie has drowned, and her death is likely a suicide. The storyline bounces back and forth between past and present to fill in details of Reid and Hattie’s relationship, including all Hattie deliberately hid from Reid—and quite a lot that Reid hid from Hattie. Reid always understood that her role in Hattie’s life involved not demanding answers or intimacy. At the same time, Hattie was central to Reid’s life, and learning to navigate each day without her seems impossible. Reid and Hattie are white and straight; other important characters are Asian, Latino, and gay. The large cast of characters, particularly the high school students, are well and sensitively drawn. The novel doesn’t glorify suicide or dwell on the details of Hattie’s death. Instead it explores loss, futility, honesty, and love, with a richness of prose and excellence of characterization rare in a first-time author.
Despite the difficult topic, a story to savor. (Fiction. 14-18)
