Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index

Love Letters to the Dead meets The Sky is Everywhere in this upbeat story about an off-beat girl coping with grief over the death of her sister who discovers the miraculous ways your life can change when you think you're helping someone else.

Sixty-five days after the death of her beloved older sister, sixteen-year-old Juniper discovers an unsent letter that Camie wrote on the day she died, addressed only to "You." Juniper is determined to honor her sister's memory and deliver the letter, except she has no idea who "you" is. The shock of her sister's secret relationship causes her to lose track of the sixty-fifth card in her Happiness Index—a ritual started by sunny Camie—in which Juniper is supposed to log something positive each day. It's the ritual that's been holding Juniper together since Camie's death, and without that card, there's a hole. Plus, this particular card contains Juniper's biggest secret.

Juniper's search ends up taking her on a heart-opening journey that changes not just her life, but the lives of several classmates who are struggling too—the anonymous author of a suicide note, a vandalizing guitar player with a troubled home life, and a boy with a secret even bigger than Juniper's.

This is a smart, poignant, funny book guaranteed to make you laugh and cry—and maybe even take notes.

Julie Israel lives in Portland, Oregon, and holds a BA in creative writing. After a stint teaching English in Japan, she returned to her native state to write fiction full-time. When not writing, she is likely reading, making art, or learning one of too many languages to keep straight. Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index is her debut novel.