A heart-wrenching exploration of grief from a bestselling YA author, set in a landscape corrupted by fame and the scrutiny that comes from living in the shadow of a star.

To the world, Lizzie Beck is a superstar: famous, talented and beloved. To Emmy, she is simply Beth: her brilliant older sister, her idol.

But then Beth takes her own life, and all the light in the world disappears.

Now Emmy is lost. Amidst the media storm and overwhelming public grief, she must fight to save her own memories of her sister – and find out who she is without her.

Lizzie Beck (Beth) the superstar singer with the girl group The Jinks is dead aged 21. The world is devastated, her fans are devastated but spare a thought for her family and her little sister Emmy.

At just 16 years old, Emmy is having to go through one of the worst situations she will ever face, her big sister is dead, she is grieving and the world is intruding. This is her story.

Where the Light Goes is poignant, sorrowful, and emotional. It is also richly beautiful and meaningful. It deals with death and suicide in an empathetic and raw way that will have you wanting to wrap your arms around Emmy, although she wouldn’t let you.

Told in chapters of how many days since Beth’s death the book focuses on Emmy and how she feels. It also shows how little people care about the families of superstars who have died. From turning up at the family home to writing news articles like they were best friends with the star, and telling plenty of lies.

I was surprised by how easy I found this book to read. The chapters just flowed and I didn’t want to put it down. I can’t say I got emotional in the sense of weeping whilst reading but I did find myself getting angry at some of the intrusion and thoughtlessness of others.

Given its subject matter, you might be put off reading this book but I can honestly say as long as you are not triggered by reading about death and suicide give it a go it is such an amazing story and one that will stay with you long after you close the pages.

Sara Barnard lives in Brighton and does all her best writing on trains. She is a bestselling author of seven novels for young adults. Her debut Beautiful Broken Things was a Zoella Bookclub pick and she went on to win the YA Book Prize with her third novel, Goodbye, Perfect.

Where the Light Goes is her latest novel with Walker Books. Sara believes that sad books are good for the soul, and happy books lift the heart. She hopes to write lots of books that do both.