Falling Lessons / Aurora Corialis Publishing (ePub)

Hurricanes are awful.

Leaving your home and friends is awful.

But making new friends and finding new ways to cope ... maybe not so bad.

When a hurricane destroys 14-year-old Louisa's home, she must move into her grandmother's trailer with only her mom and the few belongings they were able to salvage from the wreckage. Her smart glasses-kinda like smart phones from the early 2000s but, you know, glasses-can tell her how to get around her new school and who people are, but what they can't tell her is how she fits into this strange new town. And that, as some things fall apart, others will fall into place.

Set in the year 2050, Falling Lessons is a story about a girl and her changing dreams. It's a time when eating grasshoppers is the norm and grandparents enjoy moshing-sorry, what is that?-at their assisted-living facility. Louisa stumbles upon hapkido, a Korean martial art, and Ruby, who makes her heart flutter like the tailfin of a goldfish.

As she practices her kicks and learns how to safely fall at the dojang, Louisa realizes that her new home has way more in store for her than she could have possibly imagined. Her life may not resemble the plot of any comic book in her collection, but that doesn't mean it can't be filled with picture-perfect moments and page-turning surprises.

Will Louisa master her kicks and open her heart?

Heartwarming and fun, Falling Lessons is for young adult readers who love unique, realistic characters overcoming challenges in their personal lives, family, and school, just as they are.

"Gentle, honest, and vulnerable, Falling Lessons is a compelling futuristic coming-of-age story about Louisa, a teenage girl facing the challenges of family, love, technology, and growing up."

-A.K. Downing, The Air Series

"Falling Lessons is about hanging on and letting go, falling in love and letting yourself be loved back. And because it's told in Louisa's remarkable voice, it's a story that offers unexpected moments of wonder on every page and reminds you to find and savor such moments in your own life."

-Ann Claycomb, Silenced and The Mermaid's Daughter