About this item
"My hands aren't the same hands as before. Even my friends feel different." Claire Fairchild, 14, has always known music would be her life. So when she has the opportunity to enter a prestigious contest, she goes all in - until she realizes she's also competing against Juan, a close childhood friend and one of the most talented musicians she knows. It doesn't help that her thoughts about him are turning romantic. When Claire and her family receive a devastating blow from Batten disease, her world enters a tailspin. Claire decides her musical goals no longer seem relevant. She can't reconcile the joy that music would bring to her life while her brothers succumb to an early and ugly death. Her decision puts everything at risk: her friendship with Juan, her parents' expectations, and her own happiness.
About the Author
Linda Vigen Phillips was born and raised in pristine southeast Oregon. She left after graduating from U of O but Oregon never left her. She says, "There is a deep-down reservoir in my soul that holds the sound of lake wind whistling through tall Ponderosas, sun glancing off of Cascade Range peaks, the semi-arid wind carrying sage and juniper scent. ...more renewable resources than any writer could ever need. " Linda finds passion in creating realistic fiction told in verse, to offer hope to teens and their families who face mental or physical health challenges. Her debut novel, Crazy, depicts the struggles of a teenage girl in the1960's coming to terms with her mother's bipolar disorder. It earned numerous accolades, including Foreword Reviews lndieFab Book of the Year Finalist, the short-list for SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, and an Honor book for the Paterson Prize for Books. Linda's second book, Behind These Hands, shows how the life of a teenage piano prodigy is upended when her two younger brothers are diagnosed with Batten, a rare neurodegenerative disease. Linda's writing has been praised as "beautiful" and "emotionally impactful" (School Library Journal) ; her brave storylines "resonate with teens" (Booklist) and "speak to many, many readers" (San Francisco Book Review) . Linda enjoys conducting writing workshops, spending time with her grandkids, and advocating for better mental health through her involvement with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) . She lives in Charlotte, NC, where she and her husband love to sit on the screened porch to watch the grass grow.
