Publishers Weekly
★ 05/07/2018
In this memorable, Zen Buddhist-centric novel, 17-year-old Essa, a native of Boulder, Colo., must care for her little sister, Puck, because their perpetually high-on-marijuana mother refuses to. Oliver, a recent transplant to Boulder, is also close to his younger sister, Lilly, and is grieving over how Lilly’s serious mental illness has affected their relationship and family. Over the course of slow, intense, and reflective alternating chapters, Essa and Oliver meet, fall in love, and face tremendous hardship with the awe-inducing beauty of the Colorado wilderness as a backdrop. France’s prose is dense with ideas and practices related to Zen Buddhism and thoughtful about how these practices apply to Essa’s thoughts and life struggles. France also shows her expertise in camping and survival in the wilderness, as Essa and Oliver become lost in the mountains during a storm and must fight for their lives—and Puck’s. Essa’s struggles with her irresponsible, absentee mother are fierce and poignant, as are Oliver’s in response to his sister’s schizophrenia. This is a beautiful, gentle, contemplative story certain to both fascinate and educate readers about a new way of encountering the world and all the challenges within it. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Unter, Unter Agency. (July)
From the Publisher
Praise for Zen and Gone
2018 Reading the West Book Award Winner for Young Adult
A July 2018 Washington Post Best Book for Young Readers
"The romance, family dramas and physical danger keep us turning the pages, but the generous embrace of the spiritual truly enriches this reading experience."
—The Washington Post
"As wild as it is heartwarming."
—Paste Magazine
"Zen and Gone reminds us that we are all connected, we all matter, and we are all loved. By lifting up others, we lift up ourselves."
—New York Times bestselling author Lauren Myracle
"Memorable. This is a beautiful, gentle, contemplative story certain to both fascinate and educate readers about a new way of encountering the world and all the challenges within it."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Imbued with an exceptionally strong sense of a fascinating place and organized around the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, the novel offers a beginner’s lesson in Buddhist principles as they might actually be lived in a contemporary American setting."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"With a host of deftly drawn characters, Emily France’s Zen and Gone is a paean to the multicultural mountain mecca of Boulder."
—BookPage
"A fast-paced read. Blending romance, thrills, drama, and philosophy, this novel delivers a strong message about being present with life even when it hurts."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Two teens face outsize family responsibility in this thoughtful novel about mindfulness and survival."
—Booklist
"I absolutely adored this book."
—YA Cafe Podcast
"France’s actors are authentic and easy to relate to. The novel’s Boulder setting is equally well-drawn. Amidst crisis, there is humor, teen angst and—you guessed it, readers—even a little romance."
—Run Spot Run
Praise for Signs of You
"Gripping, enigmatic, and moving, Signs of You will stay with readers long after they’ve turned the last page. France masterfully plumbs the depths of the human heart as she layers mysticism, friendship, wit, and grief in this story about four teens looking for meaning and love after the deaths of people close to them."
—Ingrid Law, Newbery Honor winner and New York Times Bestselling author of Savvy
"Alternatingly laugh-out-loud funny, tear-inducing sad, and goose-bump spooky. This is a mystery with a heart, and one that is very hard to put down."
—Jodi Lynn Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight at the Electric
“An irresistible force of nature [that] felt like it was written just for me, and made me want everyone else to read it immediately.”
—Gwenda Bond, bestselling author of the Lois Lane series
"Eerie and intense, Signs of You explores the mysteries of life and what comes after. A vibrant debut from a compelling new voice in young adult literature. This is a book that stays with you long after you’ve savored the last page."
—Melanie Crowder, author of Audacity, a National Jewish Book Awards Finalist
"Signs of You has an engaging mystery at its center, one that will keep readers turning the pages as Riley and her friends try to understand the supernatural world that surrounds them. But it is the heart-wrenchingly profound questions that will stick with you long after you've finished. In her funny, suspenseful and romantic debut novel, Emily France beautifully shows us how a person can live fully in the face of unfathomable loss."
—Deborah Heiligman, National Book Award Finalist and Printz Honoree author
Kirkus Reviews
2018-04-30
Needing a break from mounting family stress, 17-year-old Oliver leaves Chicago to spend the summer with his aunt in Boulder and encounters the alluring but distant Essa.As their stoner mother flits from relationship to relationship, Essa is the default caregiver to her sister, the tenacious and gifted 9-year-old Puck. Rather than seeking escape through marijuana as her mother and friends choose, Essa is drawn toward Zen Buddhism and wilderness orienteering. Oliver feels out of place in crunchy Boulder, but he does relate to Essa's sense of responsibility for her sister; his suffers from a severe mental illness. The two bond over this shared understanding, and Essa introduces Oliver to meditation and the challenging mountain survival games she plays with her friends. On one of these expeditions, Puck sneaks along and isn't discovered until the group is too deep to turn back. That night, Puck disappears, and Essa is left in the groundless terror of the unknown, desperately searching for any clues that will lead her to Puck, hopefully still alive. The third-person narration alternates focus between Essa and Oliver in short chapters, making for a fast-paced read. Well-developed, diverse supporting characters surround the white protagonists, contributing insights and struggles that enrich the overall plot. Blending romance, thrills, drama, and philosophy, this novel delivers a strong message about being present with life even when it hurts. (Fiction. 14-18)
