Weird Sad and Silent — Alison McGhee

In this touching novel by the acclaimed author of Telephone of the Tree, an intriguing new boy at school helps Daisy cope with both bullying and past trauma.

Daisy has been working on invisibilizing herself -- ever since living with her mother's violent ex-boyfriend, and now to avoid the school bullies who are targeting her. She keeps a low profile, eating lunch with the librarian instead of in the Lunchroom of Terror and secretly counting whenever she's anxious.

But things are looking up. A new boy has befriended her and seems able to stand up to the bullies, and the stray cat she's been feeding is starting to almost trust her. Maybe she can finally focus on futurizing rather than invisibilizing.