SILHOUETTED BY THE BLUE by Traci L. Jones

Seventh grader Serena Shaw is moving on.  Her mother died in a car accident eighteen months ago.  Serena made it through the school year last year being the girl whose mom died.  This year she's hoping to make her mark by earning the lead role in the school musical The Wiz.

Just when Serena thinks she is going to start living again, her father decides he's not.  Her mother always explained it as begin "blue."  Whatever it is, Serena's father hasn't taken a bath, gotten dressed, or left the house for days.  All the housework, food preparation, and care of her little brother Henry has fallen on Serena's shoulders.   

When Serena succeeds in landing the lead in the musical she knows after school practices will demand her time.  She needs to be able to count of her father to pick up Henry after school, start going to the grocery store, and begin fixing the meals.  In addition, he needs to get back to work as the great artist famous for his amazing book illustrations.  That's what Serena needs, but it is not what she is getting.  Her father is withdrawing farther every day.

SILHOUETTED BY THE BLUE by Traci L. Jones explores the world of depression and its effects on the family.  Readers will fall in love with the determined Serena on page one and will continuously root for her to succeed and hold her family together.