{"title":"Alexandra Villasante","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"grief-keeper-book-alexandra-villasante-9780525514022","title":"The Grief Keeper","description":"This stunning YA debut is a timely and heartfelt speculative narrative about healing, faith, and freedom.  Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed Marisol's mother as a maid. When she pictured an American life for herself, she dreamed of a life like Aimee and Amber's, the title characters of her favorite American TV show. She never pictured fleeing her home in El Salvador under threat of death and stealing across the US border as \"an illegal\", but after her brother is murdered and her younger sister, Gabi's, life is also placed in equal jeopardy, she has no choice, especially because she knows everything is her fault. If she had never fallen for the charms of a beautiful girl named Liliana, Pablo might still be alive, her mother wouldn't be in hiding and she and Gabi wouldn't have been caught crossing the border.   But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She's asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It's a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief.   The Grief Keeper is a tender tale that explores the heartbreak and consequences of when both love and human beings are branded illegal.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49562820182289,"sku":"CIN0525514023G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49565588619537,"sku":"GOR012947689","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50313012052241,"sku":"CIN0525514023VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51003320795409,"sku":"NIN9780525514022","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":51292710207761,"sku":"CIN0525514023A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0525514023.jpg?v=1751198230"},{"product_id":"grief-keeper-book-alexandra-villasante-9780525514046","title":"The Grief Keeper","description":"LAMBDA AWARD-WINNER. Now in paperback. A tender and timely tale that explores the heartbreak and consequences of when both love and human beings are branded illegal.  Seventeen-year-old Marisol and her little sister Gabi are detainees of the United States Government. Fleeing the gang that killed her older brother in El Salvador and consumed by her guilt over his death, Marisol will do anything to keep Gabi safe--including consenting to an experimental procedure. For the chance to stay in the United States, Marisol becomes a grief keeper, taking the grief of strangers into her body, relieving them of their pain as she lives through it. Although Marisol agrees to risk her own health and mental well-being, she never imagined that one of the risks would be falling in love. Her shared connection with a troubled but beautiful teenage girl erupts into a powerful love that just might be enough to save each of them from their crushing grief.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51650906358033,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51650906554641,"sku":"NIN9780525514046","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":52890364248337,"sku":"CIN052551404XLN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/052551404X.jpg?v=1751261859"},{"product_id":"fireblooms-book-alexandra-villasante-9780525514053","title":"Fireblooms","description":"An absorbing speculative Queer romance, set in a town that uses technology to prevent hate speech and bullying. From the LAMBDA Award-winning author of The Grief Keeper.  When seventeen-year-old Sebastian agrees to come to New Gault to care for his absent and abusive mother after her cancer diagnosis, he is not prepared for the strange new community that awaits him or the distressing state he finds his mother in. He tries to help, but despite being ill, her tongue is as sharp as ever, finding all Sebas’s tender places. But he promised his Abuela he'd try to make this work.  Unfortunately trying also means attending TECH, New Gault’s high school. His first day, he’s assigned to enthusiastic TECH student ambassador, Lu, who introduces him to all TECH can offer—a safe space, free from bullying. But all this safety and technology comes with a catch—not only do you have to watch what you say, but you have to stay within a strict word limit. Sebas declines. To him New Gault feels more like the Stepford Wives than freedom.  For Lu, who suffers from anxiety and has a history of being bullied, TECH is a lifeline somewhere they can be safe. They can’t understand why Sebas would refuse. When Sebas rejects TECH, it feels as if he’s rejecting Lu.  But when Sebas learns if he doesn’t accept the TECH phone and abide by the rules, his mother will be denied cancer treatment, he changes his tune. Slowly, Lu and Sebas form a friendship that morphs into something more, but the closer they get, the more Sebas challenges Lu's beliefs about TECH and what it means to be safe. Meanwhile, Sebas contemplates how to forgive his dying mother for being no mother at all.  This thought-provoking, tender love story examines what we’re willing to give up to feel safe as two broken teens navigate emotional trauma and discover what blooms may come from the ashes.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52496512811281,"sku":"NIN9780525514053","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52599332831505,"sku":"CIN0525514058G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780525514053.jpg?v=1760038649"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-alexandra-villasante.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}