The Color of Absence: 12 Stories about Loss and Hope. James Howe (ed), $10.99

Different types of loss experienced by teenagers and how they try to cope with their grief are portrayed in this collection of short stories.

Coping with Loss: the Life Changes Handbook. Anita Naik, $11.95 (ages 10 and up)

Struggling to fit in with your stepfamily? Grieving the loss of a loved one? Moving from your familiar friends, school and neighbourhood? Not sure how to cope with these feelings of sadness and loss? THE LIFE CHANGES HANDBOOK is here to help with useful advice, facts, tips and quizzes on these issues and more.

Cures for Heartbreak. Margo Rabb, $18.95 (novel, ages 13 and up)

"If she dies, I'll die," are the words 15-year-old Mia Perlman writes in her journal the night her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Nine days later, Mia's mother is dead, and Mia, her older sister, and her father must find a way to live on in the face of sudden, unfathomable loss. But even in grief, there is the chance for new beginnings in this poignant, funny, and hopeful novel.

Fire in My Heart, Ice in My Veins: a Journal for Teenagers Experiencing a Loss. Enid Samuel Traisman, $13.50

Teens can write letters, copy down meaningful lyrics, write songs and poems, tell the person who died what they want them to know, finish business and use their creativity to work through the grieving process.  Teens can share their journal entries, thoughts or illustrations with other grieving teens. 

Grieving for the Sibling You Lost: a Teen's Guide to Coping with Grief & Finding Meaning after Loss. Erica Goldblatt Hyatt, $22.50

If you’ve lost a sibling, you feel sad, confused, or even angry. For the first time, a psychotherapist specializing in teen and adolescent bereavement offers a compassionate guide to help you discover your unique coping style, deal with overwhelming emotions, and find constructive ways to manage this profound loss so you can move forward in a meaningful and healthy way.

Grieving for the Sibling You Lost will help you understand your own unique coping style. You'll also find effective exercises based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you work through negative thoughts, and learn the importance of creating meaning out of loss and suffering. Most importantly, you'll learn when and how to ask for help from parents, friends, or teachers.

If you’ve lost a sibling, the pain can feel unbearable, but there are ways you can start to heal. This book will show you how.

The Grieving Teen: a Guide for Teenagers and Their Friends. Helen Fitzgerald, $18.99

Although the circumstances surrounding a death are difficult to handle at any age, adolescence brings with it challenges and struggles that until now have been largely overlooked. Writing not only about but also for teenagers, Helen Fitzgerald adeptly covers the entire range of situations in which teens may find themselves grieving a death, whether the cause was old age, terminal illness, school violence, or suicide. She helps teens address the gamut of strong and difficult emotions they will experience and the new situations they will face, including family changes, issues with friends, problems at school, and the courage needed to move forward with one's own life.

Using a clear and accessible format, Fitzgerald guides teens through everything from the sickbed to the funeral, from the first day back at school to the first anniversary of the death. Above all, she lets teens know that even in their darkest hour, they are not alone.

Harvey. Hervé Bouchard & Janice Nadeau, $22.95 (ages 11 and up)

First ever winner of the Governor General’s Award for both text and illustration.

Harvey and his little brother are on their way home after playing in the slushy streets of early spring, when they discover their father has died of a heart attack. Brilliantly illustrated and emotionally true, this graphic novel is a deeply moving and entirely original story about a young boy’s experience of loss.

Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas. Alan Wolfelt, $17.95

When you're a teen, the death of someone you love can be especially difficult. Being a teen is hard enough; being a grieving teen can feel completely overwhelming. This book was written to help you understand and deal with your unique grief. It gives you lots of really simple, practical ideas and suggested activities.  Flip to any page and help yourself on your journey through grief today.

Help for the Hard Times: Getting Through Loss. Earl Hipp, $17.50

Because loss is such a big part of everyone's life, it's important to understand the normal feelings, thoughts, and behaviors associated with grief and to know how to take care of yourself in the healing process. Knowing what to expect makes the experience less scary and increases the likelihood of getting through loss without unnecessary pain. At the center of it all, loss is about feelings, complicated feelings. This book, any book, is a guide, a map to help you find your way through difficult emotional territory.

Mockingbird. Kathryn Erskine, $8.50 (novel, ages 10 and up)

Ten-year-old Caitlin is a girl with Asperger’s Syndrome. Her brother Devon has always been there to help her make sense of the world. Now Devon is gone and so Caitlin turns to what she knows best — textbooks and dictionaries — and discovers she has the power to heal within herself.

Out of the Shadows: a Journal for Teens Who Have Someone They Love Complete Suicide. Emilio Parga, $11.95

40 pages for teens written from teens to document their feelings, write a letter, write a poem and write about memories on their own or in a group. Includes organizations, websites, facts about suicide.

Sometimes Life Sucks: When Someone You Love Dies. Molly Carlile, $17.99

Teenagers experience loss in all kinds of ways and like everyone else, they struggle to come to terms with their shock and grief. This book is full of great tips, stories and gentle advice to help teens navigate their personal experience of loss.

Straight Talk about Death for Teenagers: How to Cope with Losing Someone You Love. Earl Grollman, $16.50

If you are a teenager whose friend or relative has died, this book was written for you. Earl Gollman, the award-winning author of LIVING WHEN A LOVED ONE HAS DIED, explains what to expect when you lose someone you love. He discusses:

• normal reactions to the shock of death, including disbelief, anger, panic, and loneliness
• how grief can affect your relationships with family, friends and classmates
• how participating in a funeral can help
• surviving birthdays and anniversaries
• how you can work through your grief and begin to live again

STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT DEATH FOR TEENAGERS also includes a journal section where you can record your memories of the person who died, your feelings about the loss, and your hopes for the future.

Teens, Loss, and Grief: the Ultimate Teen Guide. Edward Myers, illustrated by Kelly Adams, $17.95

Teens, Loss, and Grief is a self-help guide for teenagers who are experiencing a bereavement and the emotional difficulties it presents. The book describes grief as a painful but normal process, and it offers insights from bereavement experts as well as practical suggestions for coping with loss, including accounts from teens.

We Get It: Voices of Grieving College Students and Young Adults. Heather Servaty-Seib & David Fajgenbaum, $24.95

Grieving the death of a loved one is difficult at any age, but it can be particularly difficult during college and young adulthood. From developing a sense of identity to living away from family and adjusting to life on and off campus, college students and young adults face a unique set of issues. These issues often make it difficult for young adults to talk about their loss, leading to a sense of isolation, different-ness and a pressure to pretend that everything is OK. The narratives included in this book are honest, engaging and heartfelt, and they help other students and young people know that they are not alone and that there are others who 'get' what they are going through. The narratives are usefully divided by themes, such as isolation, forced maturity and life transition challenges, and include commentary by the authors on grief responses and coping strategies. Each section also ends with helpful questions for reflection.

Weird is Normal: When Teenagers Grieve. Jenny Lee Wheeler, $14.50

Are You a Teenager Dealing with Grief? You’ve got to pick up this book!

It was written by a grieving teen for grieving teens. Like you, author Jenny Lee Wheeler has experienced (and is still experiencing) the challenges of how to grieve in an adult world filled with “shoulds” and unrealistic expectations. Jenny shares her personal grief journey and reassures you that:

• You have the right to grieve in YOUR OWN way and on YOUR OWN timetable.
• Grieving teens sometimes get lost in the shuffle because most adults don’t understand how teenagers mourn.
• Your grief attacks might be totally different from those of the adults around you. That’s okay. In fact, it’s normal. You’re a teenager!
• You aren’t crazy or imagining things if you see signs from your loved one.  Signs don’t have to be huge or obvious to everyone; they just have to be special to you, reassuring you that love never dies.

When a Friend Dies: a Book for Teens About Grieving & Healing. Marilyn Gootman, $11.99

The death of a friend is a wrenching event for anyone at any age. Teenagers especially need help coping with this painful loss. This sensitive book answers questions grieving teens often have, like “How should I be acting?”; “Is it wrong to go to parties and have fun?” and “What if I can’t handle my grief on my own?”

The advice is gentle, non-preachy, and compassionate; the author has seen her own children suffer from the death of a friend, and she knows what teens go through. The revised edition includes new quotes from teens, new resources, and new insights into losing a friend through violence. Also recommended for parents and teachers of teens who have experienced a painful loss.