The Stone Silenus

A parent might reach for this book when their teenager is struggling with the messy, surreal, and often lonely aftermath of losing a parent, particularly when that loss feels unresolved or poetic in its tragedy. The story follows Melissa, a girl whose father, a flamboyant poet with a satyr-like personality, drowned exactly one year ago. When a mysterious boy appearing to be a real faun emerges from the woods, Melissa must decide if he is a supernatural reincarnation or a manifestation of her own desperate need for closure. It is a sophisticated exploration of grief, the line between myth and reality, and the ways we romanticize those we have lost. Jane Yolen uses rich, lyrical language to validate the complex emotions of a 12 to 17 year old navigating deep sadness and the slow process of letting go.