Coming February 3, 2026!
Thirteen-year-old Fallon has only ever told one person what really happened on the day she got the enormous scar that divides her face in two. Why would she share with anyone else? The truth is dark, and Fallon has much brighter things to focus on, like being cast as the lead in the school play, and hanging out with her two best friends, Trent and Kaia. But when Fallon’s uncle Geebie dies, his funeral ignites a wildfire of events that Fallon can’t manage to tamp down. The school play is spiraling out of control, Fallon’s impossible Aunt Lune comes to live with them, and Trent and Kaia might just be so into each other that there isn’t room for Fallon in their friend group any more. And when secrets even worse than the one about Fallon’s scar threaten to come to light, Fallon might not have the strength to keep them hidden for much longer. But what are you supposed to do when something you’ve spent your whole life burying suddenly threatens to burst to the surface?
praise!
Booklist | STARRED review
★ “Fallon’s feisty, funny personality shines through her first-person narration, but she also possesses a frankness that makes readers party to the complex issues she is working through . . . There’s no denying that this is a weighty novel, but it respects kids’ abilities to handle reading about tough subjects; indeed, many are living with their own secrets and trauma, and Fallon’s story may help them feel empowered and less alone.”
Kirby Larson | Newbery Honoree for Hattie Big Sky
“With Fallon’s story, Lisa Graff breaks our hearts and heals them, all in one compelling story.”
Betsy Bird | author of Long Road to the Circus and creator of the renowned School Library Journal blog Fuse#8
"Wit and heart are such disparate things to combine appropriately in the span of a single novel for kids. What Lisa Graff has managed here isn't merely extraordinary. It's monumental. A book that somehow straddles the serious and the silly with enviable aplomb."
Sarah Weeks | award-winning author of Pie and So B. It
“A Scar Like a River is quintessential Lisa Graff. Quirky, funny, timely, and deeply moving.”
Lindsey Stoddard | author of Just Like Jackie and Brave Like That
“A gentle invitation for kids to feel, and speak, and heal through all of the complicated emotions surrounding the traumas that leave us scarred.”
buy the book!
This book will be released on February 3, 2026. You can pre-order autographed copies from my local indie, using the button below, or follow the links to your favorite online retailer!
Interested in buying books in bulk for an author visit? Find lots of info here!
