Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences.

This week we are featuring BRAVE ENOUGH by Kati Gardner!

Cason is the youngest ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory. But she’s been hiding an injury. Unfortunately, it’s not a typical dancer’s injury that will get better with ice, rest, or therapy. It’s one that will change her life.

Davis survived cancer, but his reliance on painkillers developed into a drug addiction that nearly killed him. He’s been sober for several months and is enjoying his community service at the hospital, helping cancer patients. Just when he thinks he’s got his life straightened out, his ex-girlfriend, who has also been battling drug addiction, drops back into his life.

As Cason and Davis’ worlds collide, they find support in one another. But are they both brave enough to beat the enormous odds against them?

BRAVE ENOUGH is the first young adult book I’ve read with a main character battling cancer that was written by someone with first-hand knowledge. The author, Kati Gardner, is a childhood cancer survivor and a leg amputee. In BRAVE ENOUGH, she didn’t shy away from the physical and emotional challenges that come with a cancer diagnosis or in the recovery from it. Her compassionate insight and gifted storytelling makes BRAVE ENOUGH a raw, real, and beautifully compelling story, one that begins with heartache but ends with hope. For ages 14+

BRAVE ENOUGH is Kati Gardner’s debut young adult novel. It has earned a
well-deserved starred review from Kirkus! Look for it in bookstores beginning August 21st, 2018! You can find Kati on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Reading BRAVE ENOUGH left me with many questions, so I reached out to Kati. I’m thrilled to announce that she’ll join us for an interview on August 13th. You can find that interview here.

Posted by Michelle Leonard.