NZ Intermediate School Librarians discussion

A touching story, perfect for Intermediate age students, dealing with themes of death, grief, friendship, family relationships, people's differences and bullying.
Cedar's Dad and brother Ben (who had Autism) have been killed in car accident, and her Mum and remaining brother Miles are struggling to deal with their loss. The family are spending the summer back in her parent's hometown. There Cedar makes friends with Leo, they both have summer jobs at the town's Shakespeare festival and one of the threads in the story has them investigating the death 20 years earlier of a famous actress from the town who died in mysterious circumstances. But the most important part of the book is how Cedar, with the help of her new friend, deals with her feelings of grief, loss, anger, and guilt. The book ends on a positive note, yay! I probably wouldn't recommend it as a Read Aloud, but I did really enjoy it and I will be recommending it to students who enjoy a sad/poignant/ultimately uplifting tale.