A Blue So Dark

Mom looked down at me, her eyes not just glittering but snapping with fire, like two Fourth of July sparklers. "We're just alike, me and Aura." And, you know, back then, the idea of that didn't scare the absolute hell out of me.

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, Grace, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that creative equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens
to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked- and together offer an escape from her fears.

"Schindler's lyrical debut explores the nightmare of mental illness in a voice that is sharp and funny and all her own. This is as real as teen fiction gets. A must-read."
—Crissa-Jean Chappell, author of Total Constant Order