Before he died, Melissa's father told her about stars. He told her that the brightest stars weren't always the most beautiful—that if people took the time to look at the smaller stars, if they...

Jillian Cantor has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona, where she was a recipient of the national Jacob K. Javits fellowship. Her first novel, The...

Melissa’s first-person narrative and pithy remarks are realistic and relatable as she comes to terms with the inevitability—and also the possibilities—of the future.