The Way We Bared Our Souls

The Way We Bared Our Souls by Willa Strayhorn, 276 pages

Lo is terrified that she has Multiple Sclerosis.  Her aunt recently died from MS and Lo, who has started having symptoms, can't face the possibility that she may have it too.  She meets a man who calls himself Jay and spends time with a coyote called Dakota.  Jay tells Lo that he can help her.  She needs to find four friends who also need help and he can perform a ritual that will help all of them.  Lo manages to find four friends who all have some deep problems, with drugs, illness, or memories that haunt them and they all agree to do the ritual.  However, the ritual has some unexpected consequences that could either save them or ruin them.  I mostly liked this book.  It was well written and it was a good story.  I'm not certain that I liked the ending though, but that's probably a personal preference as opposed to it actually being a bad ending.  I would definitely recommend this to teens who like realistic fiction with a touch of fantasy.