Book excerpt: Strong characters, complex relationships, and believable dialogue combine to create a touching story of loss and redemption in author Mark Delaney's Pepperland. Pamela Jean (a.k.a. Star) is sixteen when her mother dies of breast cancer. Star is angry that her mother has died and abandoned her, and nothing seems to make her feel better. Not talking to her shrink. Not playing rock music with her best friend Dooley. Not even listening to her mother's old familiar Beatles albums. It is not until Star finds an unsent letter addressed to John Lennon and a broken-down vintage Gibson guitar that she begins to find a way out of her grief...and maybe even a way to take care of some unfinished business left by her mother. Written as homage to the Beatles and the healing power of music, Delaney's unforgettable novel offers a realistic and poignant look at a difficult period in a teenager's life and the process of finding one's self.