The Sky Above Us by Natalie Lund

The Sky Above Us by Natalie Lund is a fantastic story about tragedy, grief, and the friendships that help us deal with these things.  In her second novel, told in multiple POVs and alternating timelines, Lund gives us a story of three girls suffering from the loss of three boys they cared about in different ways.  As they deal with the tragedy and grief this accident has brought them, they find that the bond they share may be stronger than any of them thought.  Through this friendship they are able to find peace and understanding as they begin to navigate their own futures.  Beautifully written, The Sky Above Us will draw you in and keep you attached until the final pages.  

As Janie, Cass, and Izzy wake up on the beach after a beer-fueled party, they are shocked to see a small plane crash into the ocean in front of them.  What they soon find out is that the only three on the plane were Nate (a best friend/love interest), Shane (an ex-boyfriend), and Isreal (a twin brother), three boys they cared deeply about.  In the ensuing days, these girls must learn to find a future while also searching for answers to what exactly led the boys to steal an airplane.  Told in alternating view points of the girls in the days after and the boys in the days leading up to the accident, The Sky Above Us fills in the details of these three relationships and what may have caused the boys to try and find an escape from the problems of their past.  What we end up with is a beautiful story about how we handle tragedy and find a way to move forward without those we have lost.

From Amazon: 

"A compelling, well-voiced look at how teenagers deal with tragedy." -- School Library Journal
 
"Powerfully crafted and captivating." --Midwest Book Review

From the author of We Speak in Storms comes a compelling mystery about three friends searching for the truth in the aftermath of a plane crash.

The morning after their senior year beach party, Izzy, Cass, and Janie are woken by a thundering overhead. Then they and their classmates watch in shock as a plane crashes into the water. When the passengers are finally recovered, they are identified as Izzy's twin brother, Israel, Cass's ex-boyfriend, Shane, and Janie's best friend, Nate. But Izzy can feel when her brother is in pain, and she knows he's not really dead. So she, Cass, and Janie set out to discover what actually happened that day--and why the boys were on the plane.

Told in alternating timelines and points of view, this powerful and captivating novel follows the three boys in the weeks leading up to that fateful flight, and the girls they left behind as they try to piece together the truth about the boys they loved and thought they knew. A spellbinding story about the ripple effects of tragedy, the questions we leave unanswered, and the enduring power of friendship.