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Book Cover for: Survival Kit, Donna Freitas

Survival Kit

Donna Freitas

When Rose's mom dies, she leaves behind a brown paper bag labeled Rose's Survival Kit. Inside the bag, Rose finds an iPod, with a to-be-determined playlist; a picture of peonies, for growing; a crystal heart, for loving; a paper star, for making a wish; and a paper kite, for letting go.

As Rose ponders the meaning of each item, she finds herself returning again and again to an unexpected source of comfort. Will is her family's gardener, the school hockey star, and the only person who really understands what she's going through. Can loss lead to love?

Book Details

  • Publisher: Fsg Bfyr
  • Publish Date: Oct 11st, 2011
  • Pages: 368
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.10in - 6.30in - 1.30in - 1.55lb
  • EAN: 9780374399177
  • Recommended age: 13-18
  • Categories: Social Themes - Death, Grief, BereavementRomance - Contemporary

About the Author

Freitas, Donna: -

Donna Freitas is an author of books for both teens and adults. Her nonfiction books for adults include, most recently, Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance and Religion on America's College Campuses (Oxford), based on a national study about the influence of sexuality and romantic relationships on the spiritual identities of America's college students. She is also a devoted fan of the celebrated British children's author Philip Pullman, and her book about the religious and ethical dimensions of his award-winning trilogy Killing the Imposter God: Philip Pullman's Spiritual Imagination in His Dark Materials (Jossey-Bass/Wiley) hit the bookshelves in the middle of a major, national controversy about the release of the trilogy's first movie installment.


Much of her writing, teaching, and lecturing centers around struggles of belonging and alienation with regard to faith, particularly among young adults and especially with regard to young women. She loves to ask Big Questions (Why are we here anyway?) and delights in discovering the many possible forums in which to dabble with the stuff of faith, religion, spirituality, and gender.

A regular contributor to The Washington Post/Newsweek's online panel "On Faith," the religion webzine Beliefnet, and Publishers Weekly, she has also written for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Christian Century, and School Library Journal, and she has appeared as a commentator on NPR's All Things Considered. Her books also include Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for the Bridget Jones in All of Us and Save the Date: A Spirituality of Dating, Love, Dinner & the Divine.

Born in Rhode Island, Donna received her B.A. in philosophy and Spanish from Georgetown University and her Ph.D. in religion from Catholic University. She has been a professor at Boston University and at Hofstra in New York. She is currently splitting her time between Barcelona and New York and writing full time. Donna describes herself as an ardent feminist, a Catholic despite it all, an intense intellectual, and a fashion devotee all rolled into one.

More books by Donna Freitas

Book Cover for: Stefi and the Spanish Prince, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: Unplugged, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: The Big Questions Book of Sex & Consent, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: Wishful Thinking: How I Lost My Faith and Why I Want to Find It, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: The Happiness Effect: How Social Media Is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: Her One Regret, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: Consent on Campus: A Manifesto, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: The Body Market, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: Las Nueve Vidas de Rose Napolitano / The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: The Mind Virus, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: The Healer, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: Sex and the Soul, Updated Edition: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: The End of Sex: How Hookup Culture Is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused about Intimacy, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: Gold Medal Winter, Donna Freitas
Book Cover for: The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano, Donna Freitas

Praise for this book

"...a heartfelt...story of loss and love." --School Library Journal

"A worthy addition for a teen coping with her own loss or struggling to help friends or family cope with theirs." --VOYA

"Love and death are always a potent mix, and in the hands of a talented writer like Freitas, this is especially so." --Booklist

"As fragile and lovely as a rose." --Jenny Han, author of We'll Always Have Summer

"Fans of Sarah Dessen will fall for this deeply moving tale of family, loss, and falling in love." --Melissa Walker, author of Violet on the Runway

"This book was so gorgeous. I loved Rose, I swooned over Will. This is an amazing story about love, loss, and the healing power of music.I adored it!" --Morgan Matson, author of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

"Those who have lost a loved one will recognize a part of themselves in Rose and appreciate her quest to find the inner strength to reconfigure the shattered pieces of her life." --Publishers Weekly

"Rose's cathartic interactions with her survival kit provide a creative way to show that mother always does know best." --Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of Sarah Dessen will fall for this deeply moving tale of family, loss, and falling in love." --Melissa Walker, author of Violet on the Runway

"This book was so gorgeous. I loved Rose, I swooned over Will. This is an amazing story about love, loss, and the healing power of music.I adored it!" --Morgan Matson, author of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour