Bøker av Sara Zarr

Sara Zarr, author of the National Book Award finalist Story of a Girl, returns with an intimate, exquisitely crafted novel of the courage it takes to see those we love for who they are.Kyle Baker thought his family was happy. Happy enough, anyway. That's why, when Kyle learns that his mother has been having an affair and his father has been living with the secret, his reality is altered.He quits baseball, ghosts his girlfriend, and generally checks out of life as he's known it. With his older sisters out of the house and friends who don't get it, the only person he can talk to is his cousin Emily-who is always there on the other end of his texts but still has her own life, hours away.Kyle's parents want him to keep the secret of his mother's affair from the rest of the family until after what might be their last big summer reunion. As Kyle watches the effects of his parents' choices ripple out over friends, family, and strangers, and he feels the walls of his relationships closing in, he has to decide what his obligations are to everyone he cares for-including himself.

Gem has never known what it is to have security. She's never known an adult she can truly rely on. But the one constant in her life has been Dixie. Gem grew up taking care of her sister when no one else could: not their mother, whose issues make it hard for her to keep food on the table, and definitely not their father, whose intermittent presence is the only thing worse than his frequent absence. Even as Gem and Dixie have grown apart, they've always had each other.When their dad returns home for the first time in years and tries to insert himself back into their lives, Gem finds herself with an unexpected opportunity: three days with Dixie?on their own in Seattle and beyond. But this short trip soon becomes something more, as Gem discovers that to save herself, she may have to sever the one bond she's tried so hard to keep.

There are a lot of books about writing out there, and if you're like most writers, you've read them all.But learning how to write (and organize and outline and plot and edit and save the cat and market a breakout book) is one thing. Making and living a sustainable creative life in the face of...everything...is an entirely different matter. To know how to do that, we need to take a look at what goes on between the lines of our lives as writers so that we can live with care and and intention--no matter the many interior and exterior obstacles that can threaten to derail our purpose.Sara Zarr brings her experience as a writer, teacher, mentor, and podcast host to this collection of hard-won insights about what it means not to just write--and perchance to publish--but to be a writer.

From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a story of the small moments that show us who we are, and how family is not just something you're part of, but something you make.Lou and her family don't have much, but for Lou it's enough. Mom. Her sister, Casey. Their apartment in the city. Her best friend, Beth. It would be better if Dad could stop drinking and be there for her and Casey, and if they didn't have to worry about money all the time. But Lou doesn't need better--she only needs enough.What's enough for Lou, however, is not enough for Mom. Steve, Mom's boyfriend, isn't a bad guy, he's just...not what Lou is used to. And now, he and Mom are getting married, and that means moving. Packing up life as they've known it and storing it in Steve's garage. Lou will be separated from everything in her small but predictable life, farther from Dad than ever.Their last night in the city, Lou receives a mysterious birthday gift: A guitar, left for her by their front door. There's nothing saying who left it, but it must be from Dad. And as she leaves the only place she's ever known, she starts to believe that if she can learn how to play it, maybe she can bring a piece of him, and of her old life, home.

From the author of Story of a Girl comes an amazing story of friendship and human emotion about two outcasts who are reunited in high school after years of being separated-only to find that the bond between them still remains.

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr examines a teen girl's feelings of abandonment in the face of her parents' separation and her obsession with a local girl who has gone missing.

"Expert advice and encouragement are paired with exercises to help you face down your fears, let go of expectations, stop comparing yourself to others, and make your art with courage"--

Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain. That was all before she turned fourteen. Now, at sixteen, it's over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. That leaves her talented ten-year-old brother, Gus, to shoulder the full weight of the Beck-Moreau family expectations. Then Gus gets a new piano teacher who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy rekindle her love of piano -- on her own terms. But when you're used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself? National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr takes readers inside one girl's struggle to reclaim her love of music and herself. To find joy again, even when things don't go according to plan. Because life isn't a performance, and everyone deserves the chance to make a few mistakes along the way.

Soon to be a Lifetime original movie, directed by Kyra Sedgwick and featuring Kevin Bacon!