Cures for Heartbreak

★ “Rabb leavens impossible heartbreak with surprising humor, delivered with a comedian’s timing and dark absurdity. Rabb is an exceptionally gifted writer…Readers will cherish this powerful debut.”—Booklist (Starred Review)

★ “Black humor, pitch-perfect detail, and compelling characters make this a terrific read. As Mia struggles to make sense of her mother’s death and her father’s illness, she also sees humor in everyday situations, and her irreverent commentary brings the story to life.”—School Library Journal (Starred Review)

★ “This is undeniably a book of anguish; it’s also one of raw strength and casual, clever humor in random and surprising places, making it a compelling as well as tearful read.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (Starred Review)

★ “When the last page turns, four new and fascinating people have been born into the reader’s consciousness.” —Kliatt (Starred Review)

“Everybody, regardless of age, should read this novel–witty, warm, and gorgeous in its fearlessness.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Told in the first person with humor and tears, Mia’s voice is authentic, and her story of family tragedy and healing rings true. Touching and tender.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Anyone who has grieved the loss of a loved one will feel an immediate connection to Mia, the narrator of this intimate novel…it gives readers a keenly insightful study of grief.” —Publishers Weekly

“This novel gets at the blinding ache of grief, while also managing to be very funny, very smart, and addictively readable.  This is truly a gorgeous and important book, one I’ve been pressing onto friends and their teenaged kids.”—Cookie Magazine

“Rabb concentrates not on the brooding and self-pity that can often permeate this type of novel but on an examination of death’s antithesis — love — as it touches the lives of her father, her mother and even Mia herself. Each chapter collides and colludes to offer both the familiar and the uncharted with humorous and touching detail, breaking and mending the reader’s heart in turns.”—Teenreads.com

“Intense, poignant but also very funny, Mia’s story of the year following her mother’s death explores the nature of grief as it is experienced by a Jewish teenager, her older sister, and her father. There is much pain in the story but also much wisdom, not to mention a smart look at school, friendship, and romance.”—Association of Jewish Libraries

“Mia’s full of conflicting emotions that are expressed in sometimes humorous ways. She wonders whether it’s OK to date shortly after her mom dies; is it OK to wear her mom’s clothes; return to school — and how to feel normal when nothing feels normal anymore. It’s an experience that will help people understand grieving and know there is recovery.”—Detroit Free Press

“A powerful debut with unforgettable characters and important things to tell us about family, history, death, love, and philosophy. It’s a story that will heal your own heart.” —Jbooks.com

“In a wry, introspective first-person narrative (sections of which were previously published as short stories), Mia examines the ripple effects of this tragedy, showing how grief and loss infiltrate her life. An artful mix of the poignant and the sometimes comically mundane.” —The Horn Book

“Humor carries this novel, preventing it from being maudlin. Reminiscent of Mexican milagros, those small religious charms nailed on sacred objects to denote miracles, it is through a series of seemingly small experiences that a shattered heart is miraculously mended.” —Ingram Library Services

“A witty, matter-of-fact, and heartfelt look at what grief means to one teenager, and how the relationships and habits Mia acquires help her to accept change. The light, everyday comedy born of a series of disasters prevents the book from becoming maudlin. Peripheral characters are delightfully, even frighteningly, real in their details.”—VOYA

“If you go to Amazon and limit your search to children’s books and type in cancer, you’ll get more than 4000 book titles.  With the field so packed with already published books, I thought it would be unlikely for a new book on the subject to be a MUST READ…And now I’m recommending this with all my heart, for teens and adults.”—Marianas Variety

“Cures for Heartbreak is a sad, funny, smart, endlessly poignant novel. Reading it made me feel grateful for my life, for my family, and above all for the world that brings us gifts like the gift of Margo Rabb.” —Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

“Margo Rabb’s story beautifully brings together the intensely personal and the historical, and rings with the authenticity of a bitter, yet illuminating truth.” —Joyce Carol Oates

“Cures for Heartbreak is full of sadness, humor, and quirky details that ring completely true. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” —Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Prep and Sisterland