Shalanda Stanley

After seventeen-year-old Olivia and her friend Jamie accidentally kill Jamie's abusive father, two other friends, Max and Maggie, join them in running away from St. Francisville, Louisiana, to hide out in New Orleans while they try to figure out what to do next.

Drowning Is Inevitable

Told in two voices, Nick, a sometimes artist who steals cars to support his aunt, and June, who has been hiding her symptoms of schizophrenia, run away together.

Nick and June Were Here

A terrible mistake tests friendships in this stirring novel that John Corey Whaley calls "a literary knockout." Olivia has spent her whole life struggling to escape the shadow of her mother, Lillian, a woman so troubled she drowned herself in a river at age eighteen. Olivia's only outlets in their small Louisiana town are her best friend, Jamie, her handsome but hot-tempered boyfriend, Max, and their wild-child friend, Maggie. When a terrible fight between Jamie and his father turns deadly, all Olivia can think to do is grab her friends and run. In a flash, the four become fugitives on the road to New Orleans, where they hope to find a solution to an unfixable problem. Shalanda Stanley's breathtaking debut explores the deep ties between legacy, loyalty, and love, even as it asks the question: How far would you go to save a friend? Praise: "An emotional book of family bonds and teen relationships, the power of parental influence, and of fate." --School Library Journal "Anyone who has endured familial strife will appreciate Olivia and her friends. Realistic yet hopeful--a wide array of readers will enjoy this atmospheric book." --Kirkus Reviews "A story that stays in hearts forever." --YA Books Central "The story shows the powerful bonds of friendship over even the inevitability of family." --Bustle.com "Both heartwarming and heartbreaking." --Emily Reads Everything "A definite must-read." --The Review Diaries

Girl in Pieces meets All the Bright Places in this heartbreaking story of two teens who are determined to stay together in a world tearing them apart. Nick and June were best friends for years, until their relationship suddenly turned into something more. Now, June is coping with a new diagnosis of schizophrenia, a secret she asked Nick to keep for too long. Between managing her symptoms and her parents, June is just trying to keep it together. Nick is a reluctant car thief, supporting his aunt with the money and focusing on his art whenever he can. But when June's condition sends her to the hospital and Nick's latest crime threatens to land him in prison, the two decide to run away. When the world is trying to tear them apart, can Nick and June find a way to stay together? This emotional, lyrical novel will tug at your heartstrings and make you think twice about what you would give up for love, even if it's a piece of yourself.

Shalanda Stanley

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