Alicia Afterimage

Editor’s Choice, Booklist
Honor Book - Grade 7-12 Language Arts, Society of School Librarians International

A story of remembrance as well as an exploration of teen grief and healing, recounting the life and death of the author’s sixteen-year-old daughter, as told through her parents’ and friends’ recollections, thoughts, feelings, and memories. For YA and adults.

On the evening of September 24, 2004, sixteen-year-old Alicia Maria Betancourt was killed in a car accident. Popular, happy, fun-loving Alicia-daughter, sister, and friend to so many-gone in an instant. How would those left behind cope with such a sudden, devastating loss?

Wrestling with grief, anger, mortality, and spirituality, Alicia’s loved ones struggle to create a lasting place in their hearts for someone who is no longer a physical presence. They share joyful and painful memories, and discover the resilient power of enduring friendship and love. In time, each person finds a way to heal while keeping Alicia’s vibrant spirit alive for those who knew her, and those who never will.

Alicia Afterimage is a remarkable story of loss and recovery, but mostly it is a story of love. In this moving tribute to an extraordinary girl, readers will find a pathway through grief and a road map to remembrance. It is a book of comfort for all-teens and adults-who seek a way to ease the pain of losing someone they cherished.

This is Lulu Delacre’s first novel.