Law of Loving Others The

Product Description

Hours after Emma returns home from boarding school, she realizes that her mom is suffering from a schizophrenic break. Suddenly, Emma's entire childhood and identity is called into question.

Desperate for answers, Emma turns to her boyfriend, Daniel. Will he love her even if she goes crazy too? But it's the lonely, brooding boy Emma meets while visiting her mother at the hospital who really understands Emma. Phil encourages Emma's reckless need for hurt and pain in the face of all this change and she is soon caught in a complicated spiral of loss and mistrust.

In the span of just one winter break, Emma's relationships alter forever and she is forced to see the wisdom in a line from Anna Karenina: 'The law of loving others could not be discovered by reason, because it is unreasonable.'

A beautifully grounded coming-of-age novel, The Law of Loving Others demands that the reader accept the main character, Emma, for who she is, while also creating deep sympathy for all that she is going through.

The Law of Loving Others . . . immerses us in an utterly convincing world, and, in Emma, creates the kind of complex heroine readers will long remember - in all her flaws and hidden strengths and surprising wisdom.' Dan Chaon, author of Await Your Reply and Stay Awake

'A riveting and heartbreaking story of every young person's worst nightmare: the descent of a parent into madness. A great read by a great new writer to watch.' Blake Nelson, author of The Prince of Venice Beach

'Axelrod has created a convincing portrait of a teen newly experiencing the step-by-step process of learning how to cope with a family member's mental illness.' SLJ

'The Law of Loving Others is a poignant, powerful, and insightful novel about love, loss, and growing up. Kate Axelrod has written a wise and wonderful debut.' Margo Rabb, author of Cures for Heartbreak and Kissing in America