Undiscovered Country
$12.95
A volunteer trip to South America in the wake of her mother's death teaches Cat that you can't run away from grief.
Cat’s life is divided. There is the time Before her mom died, and After. Now, everything seems meaningless. Before, Cat was happy and had momentum. After, she feels stuck. And angry. There might be five stages of grief, but Cat can’t get past stage two. She’s so filled with rage, her doctor tries to medicate her. When Cat finds a brochure for a volunteer program that will send her to South America, she grabs it. She's trying to escape from the memories of her mother. But life as a “voluntourist” is not an escape. The new people and places Cat meets bring new perspectives and challenges she never expected.
Praise & Recognition
Gold's strengths are in her ability to pull readers into Cat's worlds with beautiful, and devastating, details and to create a credible protagonist who takes readers to the core of the very real pain of losing someone one loves… a thought-provoking and highly satisfying read.
CM: Canadian Review of Materials
...a sensitive portrayal of the different aspects of grief that will strike a chord with readers.
Kirkus Reviews
Written in the first person, Undiscovered Country features a voice that is strong, sharp, and smart.... Cat’s own grief mixes with her sense of right and wrong, and what results is a compelling story where Cat must pick apart romantic feelings, ethical obligations, and even her own sanity in order to arrive at a crucial decision. Undiscovered Country is first and foremost a novel about grief and new beginnings, but it is also a thoughtful coming-of-age tale about finding purpose even in the midst of despair.
Foreword Reviews
Gold captures the poignancy of a mother’s death with authenticity, alternating it with an adventure story...
Booklist
Readers will be moved by Cat's grief and intensity of her co-dependent romance. Undiscovered Country is a solid read about one teen's need to escape the realities of life and death, come to terms with her grief, and find the strength to carry on.
Quill & Quire
Gold's story is carefully crafted with skill and depth... The characters are authentic and vulnerable. Cat is a strong and convincing character that readers will connect with and like from the start.
Children's Books Heal
Jennifer Gold, author of Soldier Doll, again takes the issue of grief and connections and creates a story of loss, confusion and redemption, with honest characters dealing with realistic challenges.... Undiscovered Country, unlike most of us and most definitely Jennifer Gold's characters, never stumbles, instead exposing different paths of salvation to life's struggles, some safer than others, but all viable and very real.
CanLit for Little Canadians
Undiscovered Country is a book that will tug at your heart’s strings from beginning to end. The book is written with a clear voice, well researched, and a perfect read for fans of John Green’s works.
Resource Links
In this realistically told story, Gold shows how even the best intentions can have negative outcomes... Written for ages 13 and up, this is an emotion-laden novel with detailed descriptions of Cat’s mother’s battle with cancer.
Winnipeg Free Press
Details
Publication Date: April 11, 2017
Reading Age: 13 - 19
Genre: Teen, Children's Fiction
Product Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
ISBN: 978-1-77260-031-5
About the Author
Jennifer Gold
Jennifer Gold is an award-winning author of several books for young adults, including Soldier Doll and On the Spectrum. A lawyer and mom of two kids and two cats, she lives with her family in Toronto.
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