Author(s): Diana Noonan

CLEARANCE SALE - Fiction | Teen Fiction

Katie struggles with anxiety and compulsive behaviour disorders. She self-harms and is seeing a counsellor. When she starts dating it only increases her anxieties. Then her parents hear her Yiayia (grandmother) is ill in Greece and may be dying. The family decide to visit. Reluctant at first Katie eventually decides to embrace the trip as a way to learn about her Greek family but the visit uncovers some dark family secrets. A novel that explores the fragility of families, and the damage that can be wrought when unresolved issues of one generation shape the lives of the next. Also a story about hope, and the ability of families to survive and heal damaged relationships.

Kathleen's review - This novel for teens is set half in Wellington and half in a village in Greece. Through all sorts of stress Katie slowly learns about her emotionally distant father and the troubled relationship he has with her mother. It faces up to some major emotional issues while giving a great cultural setting. I really enjoyed it.