How to make friends with the dark

by Kathleen Glasgow

After a single phone call, the life of 16-year-old Tiger is dramatically her mother has passed away. This loss leaves a significant void in her previously peaceful life. Glasgow masterfully portrays the experience of losing a loved one and coping with the ensuing darkness.

Genres: Mental Health, Young Adult, Fiction

Paperback

About the author

Kathleen Glasgow is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of Girl in Pieces, The Glass Girl, You'd Be Home Now, How to Make Friends With the Dark, and The Agathas series (with Liz Lawson). Visit her on TikTok (@kathleenglasgow), Instagram (misskathleenglasgow) or her website (www.kathleenglasgowbooks.com).

Reviews

[Ls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zielig boek! Ik moest aan het begin echt ff inkomen en vond de schrijfstijl niet heel erg fijn. Verder vond ik het wel een leuk boek! 3,5 ster!

[Jessica Nason · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️

This was one of those reads that completely pulled me in, even while I was struggling with it.

I genuinely couldn’t stop reading, it has that addictive quality where you need to know what happens next. At the same time, this one just didn’t fully work for me. It was incredibly heavy and honestly pretty depressing throughout. I understand that’s the point, and I did appreciate how it showed the different ways people cope with grief and trauma. There’s something very real and important in that.

But parts of the story felt like they dragged on a bit too long, and the emotional weight never really let up, which made it harder to stay connected. I usually love Kathleen Glasgow’s books, but this one just wasn’t it for me.

Overall, it’s a powerful and raw story that I can see resonating with a lot of readers, especially those who may see themselves in it, but it didn’t quite hit the way I hoped it would.

[Ali Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know that was a true story till the end. That was amazing - 4 stars because I feel like right before the ending kinda dragged and like so much happened all at once but a very eye opening story and makes you really appreciate your family

[Mila Aardema]

The amount of time and dedication I read this book was worthwhile. In the book How To Make Friends With The Dark by Kathleen Glasgow, a young adult realistic fiction novel, the main character Grace Tolliver, also called “Tiger,” will have to navigate life with obstacles like the foster care system, and overwhelming grief. The book paints a picture of what intense grief and loss feels like. After the sudden death of Tiger's mother, she tries to overcome this, but ultimately the novel shows how Tiger is forced to grow up quickly. My favorite part is when Tiger begins to realize that even though her life has changed forever, she can still find support, and slowly move forward. What I will most remember isn't just the plot, but how the book makes you grieve for Tiger. Additionally the title speaks for itself as “How to make friends with the dark” is deeply symbolic. It shows how to live with pain instead of trying to run away or escape it. Although before reading this book I recommend mentally preparing yourself, as it can almost be too sad of a book. Overall I'm glad I read this as it was a way to see what other people around my age have to go through.

[Neave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m very content with my book - How to Make Friends With the Dark - and I will
be sticking with it. I say this because of how I feel like it sort of depicts what it’s
like to live below the poverty line in the U.S and how it feels to lose a parent and
the initial shock of losing them. I really enjoy how it makes you feel something
while reading it. When the main character's mom dies, I can feel the anger and
detachedness(?) from the world after it happens. That is something I really like in
my books, how you can physically and emotionally feel what the characters are
going through. I can’t wait to find out more in upcoming weeks. (Week 1: October 14, 2025)

The problem of “How to Make Friends with the Dark” is that our main character's mom
dies from a brain aneurysm. Tiger (mc) is struggling so far to overcome the death because it’s
only been like 2 days since her moms passed. Tiger’s currently in foster care and has already
been in 1 other foster home - she’s currently in her second. I feel like for Tiger to overcome the
death of her mom she would need to find stability and someone who would understand and care
for her while also not undermining her moms death. Her current placement for foster care is a
woman named Lala who is already fostering 2 littler kids along with a boy whose age is similar
to Tigers. Lala in my opinion seems like a good fit for Tiger as she seems to approach her
situation with a little more care and empathy than her other fosters. Sadly Lala’s only a
temporary foster parent for Tiger. (Week 2: October 28, 2025)

The main conflict of the story is our mc Tigers mom dying from a brain
aneurysm and Tiger being placed in foster care. What I think will happen in the
story to resolve the conflict or end the book with a happy ending for Tiger is she
finds someone who understands what it's like to lose a parent or close relative. I
think what will happen is she’ll (Tiger) arrive at her permanent foster place, she’ll
end up meeting one of the three kids who went through the same thing and she'll
relate to them. I predict that after meeting the kid Tiger will feel a lot better and
she’ll finally change out of the dress her mom bought her before she died. Then
for the ending, I predict that Tiger and Kai Henderson will make up and start
dating. (Week 3: November 25, 2025)


The main character Tiger is different from me because the book focuses on how
her mom died and that she’s going to start living with her half-sister from Honolulu,
Hawaii. Our differences can actually help me empathize more with her because despite
not knowing exactly how it would feel, she describes the pain and the painful memories
in a way that’s easier to connect with. When she’s driving to work with Thaddeus
(temporary foster brother) she mentions something her mom had told her. WHen
Thaddeus asks what that means and instead of her telling him straight up it’s something
her mom had told her she just responded with “Oh, I heard it somewhere.” I feel like I
could empathize with this because of how sometimes when you have an inside joke with
someone you don’t really talk to. Or in Tiger’s situation, dead. I know the feeling of like a
memory being too painful to share with someone who you don’t really know or who has
an idea of like what your life's like. (Week 4: December 9, 2025)


I felt sad and sort of like shocked while reading my book. I felt like I was
about to cry during certain instances as the author (Kathleen Glasgow) used
really descriptive and down to earth writing of how your average high schooler
would feel after having their mom die. I felt like I was really there in the hospital
after what she had found out about her mom and that caused me to feel like an
intense sadness for Tiger. Later in the book I also felt like I could feel her
confusion and anger at the system as she met more characters who went through
things that seemed worse than what she went through. I felt more shocked after
learning what another character had gone through that resulted in him being
adopted by Tiger’s now former foster parent Lala. Another time I felt shocked was
when she learned about her sister Shayna. (Week 5: January 6, 2026)



A scene when sensory imagery was used when Tiger learned about her
grandparents while going through her shared closet on pages 252 and 253. I feel
like everyone is familiar with the description of deceased grandparents and
parents. She described them based on how they looked in a photo she found
while going through her moms closet and looking at her things. The author used
very specific wording to help identify what Tiger’s grandparents would’
ve looked
like when Tiger’s mom was a kid. A similar time in my life when this would’ve
happened to me is when a friend would describe what their grandparents would
look like or, how someone else describes something that they think would appeal
to you. (Week 6: January 20, 2026)

The last chapter of my book was about Tiger going to school mandated
grief counseling after slapping a girl in her class. There were five people at the
session excluding Tiger and we learned about why they
’re all there. After the
session Tiger goes out with everyone who attended the counseling and they drink
alcohol and smoke weed while they talk about the more personal aspects of their
grief. They also talk about how they think the counselor who leads the session has
never lost someone with the way he plans the sessions. At the end of the chapter
we read about Tiger being drunk and texting Cake asking for help on what to do. (Week 7: February 3, 2026)

I feel like this story is pretty age appropriate and there aren’t too many elements
that are too advanced for my age group. The book focuses on Tiger’s life post
losing her mom and her journey through the foster care system. I feel that
considering Grade 9 is technically high school, teens my age should know how the
world isn’t always the fairest when it comes to treating kids in foster care. I feel
like Kathleen Glasgow chose to include these elements in my book because it’s a
good thing to acknowledge how the foster care system has let down so many, even
after traumatic or life changing events. Reading these elements evoked a mix of
empathy, sadness and a bit of pity for Tiger as some of the foster homes she went
to weren’t the best for her. Tiger also drinking alcohol with some of the grief
support group and getting drunk is also an element that I consider a bit more
advanced if someone wouldn’t understand why someone would do that. Tiger
drinking I feel really rounds out the way she’s been treated up to this point by the
universe and how her life hasn’t been super great. (Week 8: March 3, 2026 - sick on actual reading day)

Three key plot points are as follow:
1. Tiger and her mom fighting over a dress,
2. Tiger's mom dying,
3. And lastly, Tiger’s sister became her guardian.
Tiger and her mom fighting is important to the story as we learn about the family
dynamics and Tiger's home life before anything really dramatic happens. It also
introduces us to the dress which is a key element in the storyline. Secondly,
Tiger's mom dying is by far the most essential plot point as it gets the ball rolling
on what we can expect from the characters moving forward in the story. We also
get to see how other characters react to Tiger’s predicament and how they handle
her. Finally, Tiger’s sister, Shayna, becoming her guardian sets up another key
storyline involving Tiger figuring out her new family dynamics and how she has
to learn how to live with someone only roughly four years older. (Week 9: March 3, 2026)


!!Return to Week 3 to read my prediction!!

My prediction was somewhat correct in the aspect of Tiger meeting kids
who have gone through some of the same things as her. The only part of her
meeting the kids' prediction is that the kids who understand are the kids from her
school’s grief support group/counsel. Another thing I got sort of right is how she
changed out of the dress her mom gave to her after the director of her last foster
told her that the dress “oozed pain”
. Other than that, my prediction is wildly
inaccurate with her and Kai Henderson making up and dating and her having a
permanent foster home. I feel I missed the mark with how Tiger ended up
slapping another girl in the face in front of Kai, which caused him to fully stop
talking to Tiger and never being brought up again in the book.
(Week 10: March 24, 2026)

!!Return to Week 3 to read my prediction!!

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy young adult realistic fiction.
How to Make Friends with the Dark touches on real things that some people may
relate to or are interested in. This book would definitely interest a reader who
isn’t really looking for a hard read but more of a leisurely one. The theme and
messaging is pretty easy to follow and isn’t too hard to understand. The main
elements of grief, overcoming adversity, a poor hand dealt by the world and
reconnection can be very relatable to a lot of people and I wouldn’t be surprised if
someone who went through a similar event could relate to Tiger. The elements
listed would definitely make this book a very interesting read as you can sort of
feel the pain Tigers experienced throughout the story with how Kathleen
Glasgow described it. Overall, this book was a really nice read and I would
recommend it to everyone looking for a nice but sad read. (Week 12: April 21, 2026)

[Makayla Childers · Rating 5 out of 5]

My lonely ass loved it

[Viivii · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm just at the start of the book so don't bite my ass off. So far it has been nice but it's also boring.
I wanted to read this to the end and maybe I will someday but its clearly not today. This just lacks the key to the story. 😀

[annabelle marie x · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book, and arguably the 2nd best i have read of the Kathleen Glasgow collection (excluding Glass Girl which is a future read).

i really enjoyed tigers storyline, and thought the book throughout had very minimal boring parts as it didn’t put me off reading it at-all. the themes of grief, guilt and genuine loneliness throughout the book could not be presented more clearer, making the book exactly like the title “How To Make Friends With The Dark”

it gives readers a true glimpse of what it would be like to lose your only person, the person who birthed and raised you, and for that person, the only person you had in your life, to suddenly pass away and then going on to live with that for the rest of your life.

but i think the main idea of this book was the outcome of that you can find family where you least expect it: whether that be blood or people you call family.

i also felt that the ending could not have been any better, as it results in tiger moving away to Tucson for a fresh start with her step-sister that found her when her mum passed.
and though tiger was still sad her mum is permanently gone from her life, she does not feel alone and broken anymore. as she truly managed to “make friends with the dark”. 🫶🏻

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathleen Please Never Stop Writing. This perfectly captures tigers life in foster care, and a not so “typical” teenagers life. I really would love a part 2, and find out tigers life after finding her sister and Father. I would love to see how she goes on either life, and how she “heals” even though she will never be able to heal without her mother.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, it was heartbreaking but enjoyable. A lot of books I’ve read have no structure and end up being overcomplicated but this book was easy to understand and I think the author portrayed Tiger’s heartbreak and grief in a way that made you want to cry. Opinions vary but this is how I felt about the book!

[Emily Merscheim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good just . I just liked her other three books better for me this book stalled a little bit and I was starting to get bored at some point and then like the ending part where she got like arrested I feel like it was just like thrown in but overall I think it was a good book but it was stretched out and it didn't need to be that long so I'm giving it three stars.

[Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am autistic and have troubles understanding human emotions sometimes, especially if I've not experienced them myself, I have been lucky enough to not lose a loved one and this book helped me understand how someone might feel when they do, I liked that they also mentioned abuse that doesn't get noticed, even if it was just a brief thought.

[nats_bookstack · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s something about the way @misskathleenglasgow writes that just stays with you. It’s always raw, and always heavy without sugarcoating life’s realities. Yet, it still finds threads of hope in the darkest places in the end.

While I couldn’t personality relate to the main characters experiences, it did bring into perspective the possible impacts on my own children. The story brings many gaps to light not only within the system, but with our own level of ability to demonstrate compassion.

While my next read won’t be The Glass Girl, I have a feeling that one may hit home a little differently.

Here’s to loving stories that aren’t afraid to tell the truth—even when it hurts. 🖤

3.75 ⭐️

[Lotus ⋆࿔* · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a decent book. Looking back, I did like it. I enjoyed one of the characters but the names did threw me out. I didn't think much of it but now I think it was pretty goofy but ofcourse It didn't bother my reading experience. A great work for Kathleen Glasgow but her other books are better,

[Dana McLaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad story but incredible book. Loved it 💙

[Aleksandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kocham książki Kathleen Glasgow. Koniec kropka. 😭❤️

[Katalin De Clercq · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5

[Ida Strand-Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kjempe fin bok, selv om den er veldig trist så er den fin som lærer hvordan man skal leve videre uten den du elsker mest

[Emma Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sad, I had to try not to cry in class lol

[Ana Soares · Rating 3 out of 5]

sinto que deixou pontas soltas, e andou sempre muito à roda e sem evolução. contudo achei um livro bom de se ler.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's genuinely such a beautiful story about healing and moving on without your last family member around that died. It's an incredible story and I would definitely read it again!

[Simona.M · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐

[Celina · Rating 2 out of 5]

kinda boring

[Khawla Radhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

sad but really nice book 100% recommend