Winter comes and goes and comes again, and surely our wells must be filling up with all this rain. At least the crocuses and daffodils are pushing up green stems, and I’ve noticed lilies, too. Speaking of pushing, that seems to be a theme in this month’s selections — pushing through to another side, that is.

In Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, it’s a matter of pushing back into life until the ghost boys gain closure. Each has been unjustly killed in an incident involving race. Twelve-year-old Jerome was shot by a Chicago police officer who mistakes the boy’s toy gun for the real thing. Jerome doesn’t rest easily, though, and he soon discovers others like himself who can be seen by one person. In this case, it’s the police officer’s daughter, and what happens next will warm your heart — that’s all I can say.

TJ Klune writes stories with a fantastical underpinning that makes you wonder if they could actually be true. Well no, of course not, but the hopes and desires of the characters fill you with all kinds of possible scenarios. Could this really happen if I wish hard enough? 

Under the Whispering Door is another book about closure, and Cameron’s fatal heart attack has sent him straight to Hugo and Mei’s sweet shop and cafe. How can this be? Who are these villagers, pushing him into acceptance of his death while nudging him toward making amends and paying it forward? 

There’s no way to explain more without giving away the satisfying conclusions; just know that this is a light-hearted yet serious look at what my brother called “transitions.”