KATYRN BURY at Books Inc. Alameda

Join Katryn Bury to celebrate her newest middle reader novel WE ARE NOT ALONE and support Bay Farm Elementary School.

An earnest and hopeful story of unlikely friendship that follows Sam, a recent cancer survivor, and a popular girl at school who come together on a quest to uncover the truth about alien life in honor of Sam’s best friend’s final wishes.

Sam Kepler Greyson doesn’t want to be the “cancer kid.” After losing his best friend and fellow UFO enthusiast, Oscar, to brain cancer, Sam wants to focus on anything but his own cancer—maybe even a normal year of middle school.

But whispers in the halls and lingering grief over Oscar make Sam’s return much harder than he expected. To make matters worse, he is paired with popular girl Cat for a history project. Between Cat’s icy attitude and troubling rumors that Sam lied about having cancer, nothing seems to be going well.

Things start to look up when Cat and Sam unexpectedly bond over the UFO obsession he once shared with Oscar—but Sam isn’t sure he’s ready to open up to someone again. With the chance for a fresh start within reach, he worries that coming clean about his illness will only make Cat pity him. Hiding the truth also helps Sam avoid the biggest worry of all: what if his cancer comes back?

The author of the critically acclaimed Drew Leclair series returns with a hopeful novel about friendship, grief, and a gentle reminder that we are never alone in the universe.

"Katryn Bury is a master of middle grade voice. We Are Not Alone is a powerful, heartfelt exploration of loss, grief, and friendship. I absolutely loved it." -Michael Leali, award-winning author of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy and Matteo

Katryn Bury is the author of the critically acclaimed Drew Leclair mysteries. A lifelong true-crime nerd, she holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology/criminology. Katryn works with middle grade readers as a library technician by day and writes mysterious coming-of-age stories for those same readers by night. She lives in California with her family, along with a vast collection of pop-culture knickknacks and Nancy Drew books.

Host or Publisher Books Inc.