Missing Tyler

A teenage girl grapples with the unexpected death of her twin brother in Palmer’s first novel. Kit Carlin, 15, is a few days away from completing her freshman year at an Atlantic City, N.J., high school when her twin brother, Tyler, is killed in a bicycle accident. Kit and her parents are devastated, and they all seek comfort, but rarely with each other. Kit’s father starts spending more time away from home, her mother zones out watching TV and pursues a lawsuit related to Tyler’s death, and Kit feels forgotten and invisible as she grieves. Grandma Carlin is one of Kit’s few confidantes, along with Tyler’s best friend Brandon and Lex, a girl Kit meets at a summer job at the Jewish Community Center. Palmer traces Kit’s healing path over the summer, but several characters and their relationships are vaguely developed (it’s particularly difficult to get a real sense of who Tyler was), and the discussions of religion, reincarnation, and alcohol abuse never really dig below the surface, resulting in an underwhelming coming-of-age story. Ages 12–up. (BookLife)