Julia Hoban writes young-adult fiction about trauma, identity and teenagers trying to communicate when ordinary language feels inadequate. Willow follows a girl who survives the car crash that kills both her parents and begins self-harming while living with her older brother; a developing relationship with Guy forces her secrecy into contact with someone willing to notice what she is doing. The novel stays close to Willow’s guilt, isolation and gradual willingness to accept help rather than treating self-harm as a plot twist. Hoban also wrote earlier children’s and YA fiction, but Willow is the title most strongly associated with her name. The prose is accessible, serious and relationship-led, aimed at teenage readers rather than written as clinical mental-health guidance. Willow belongs to contemporary YA and grief fiction, with a strong issue-based focus on self-harm and bereavement. Because of its focus on self-harm and bereavement, readers may want to approach it with attention to those content areas. Read more Less
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