When I got the mail on Saturday, I had a dilema on my hands as I opened my package:

It really wasn’t much of a question.  I knew I would be reading–and finishing–The Impossible Knife of Memory (Viking 2014).  As my Twitter friends suggested, I couldn’t go wrong with Laurie Halse Anderson.  Indeed, this might be my favorite book of hers yet, though I hate to choose between them.

I liked Haley from her first appearance in detention, where she writes “Correcting a teacher’s mistake is not a sign of disrespect.”   No, that wasn’t quite the assigned lines to write,  but rather her interpretation of events.

Hayley is trying to survive–high school (where the zombies outnumber the freaks) and home (where her miltary father is haunted by his battles in Iraq and Afghanistan).   She and her dad had been on the road for the past five years, trying to outrun the ghosts, but now that they have settled in Andy’s hometown, the past is catching up with them.  Will a childhood friend and a quirky new guy offer enough hope for Hayley to cling to through a life that is spiraling out of control?

Laurie Halse Anderson has opened my eyes and my heart to the struggles of our country’s veterans, especially those struggling with PTSD, and their families with a powerful story that crackles with humor and heartbreak.

Here is a word from Anderson herself on the book: